Mending Strands
by Cresciela
Summary: Delving into the new world of college in a foreign place far from home, Kairi Lockhart prepares both her mind and heart for the experience. However, she didn't expect to break Sora Hikari's wrist in less than an hour after her arrival. What she thought was just a stroke of bad luck marked the beginning of a fated encounter.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

 **First time writing a fanfic ToT Hopefully it'll go well!**

It wasn't in Kairi's agenda to dive straight into her death as she rode her skateboard on the metal railing that was near the university campus. It was something she had always done, and she could boastfully say that it was a piece of cake for her to glide on it with ease. However, she didn't expect a whizzing soccer ball-which magically came from _somewhere_ behind the tall trees to the left-to hit its mark and slam right into the railing in the space in front of her, barely missing her by an inch.

"Shit!" she cursed, feeling the balance within her go array from the surprise. The railing vibrated slightly from the impact, but it was enough to get her shaky. Nearing the edge, she felt her whole body enter free-fall as her skateboard went somewhere _not_ under her feet.

 _Is this how I'm going to plummet to my death?_ As she felt her blood rush underneath her in fright and fear-and her mind belittling her for not wearing a helmet too-she started to say silent prayers to those who she loved before she closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

"Dude, watch out!"

And before she knew it, she collided onto the ground painfully, or so she thought; for some reason, it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would, but it _still_ hurt. Kairi felt something sharp dig onto her collarbone, bringing searing pain into it, while the wind was knocked out of her chest. The ground beneath her started to scrap against her elbows and knees as she rolled on it at high-speed.

Also, strangely enough, a very nice scent of faint cologne filled her sense of smell during this whole fiasco. _Huh, that's weird._

 _And why am I still conscious?_

"Sweet mother of moogles, are you two okay?" When her heart calmed down and returned to within her ribcage after falling out, she forced her eyes opened and tried not to cry from the pain on her knees and elbows. She was met with the sight of a jacket zipper right in front of her face and tried to push it away, but found herself restrained by something holding her down. Before she could voice out anything, her restraint was lifted, but that didn't stop her letting out a startled yelp when something moved underneath her. In a matter of moments, she felt someone help her up, allowing her to piece together what happened.

Deep ocean eyes clashed with her own purple-tinted ones.

-A few hours earlier-

"Kairi, I thought you were thrilled to escape the clutches of high school," Namine joked as she patted her luggage in satisfaction. It had taken _forever_ to stuff everything. Kairi merely rolled her eyes in response and continued sitting on her own.

"Hell yeah, I'm thrilled to jump into a pile of college debt," she answered sarcastically. "It's going to be great."

"It's not that bad. Kind of," came the weak reply.

"That's right." After feeling that her clothes were already compressed enough, Kairi jumped off her suitcase and zipped it up, but not without difficulty of course. Her mother, Tifa, said it was not necessary to bring her entire closet, but Kairi was adamant on the fact that Twilight Town's fashion might not be the best cake in the world for her.

"Hurry it up, you two! The ferry's going to leave soon without you!" Kairi bit the bottom of her lip and took a last glance at her and Namine's room that they had shared together since birth and released a sigh.

"It's not like we're saying good bye to home forever, y'know," Namine assured, cocking her head to the side. "C'mon, Kairi." Kairi smiled.

"Alright."

Tifa and Cloud, her father, drove the two over to the port where there departure would take place. Kairi watched from the windows of the car the blurred streets of Destiny Island, etching the last scenery of it before she made her new home at Twilight Town. She wasn't sure if Twilight Town would fit her, but only time would tell. Namine, on the other hand, seemed quite on the edge and excited about the whole new experience.

"Make sure you guys don't party too hard at those college parties I've heard ill rumors about," Tifa said warningly, earning a snicker from both Kairi and Namine.

"Sure, Mom, sure." From the rearview mirror, the steely stare of their fathers shut both of them up; he always did have the talent of conveying his thoughts without words.

"No boys either," he added. The girls widened their eyes before frowning.

"Dad, we're in college now," Kairi exasperated, giving him _the_ look with the rearview window. "I'm going to bring a hunk home when you least expect it." Tifa laughed while Cloud grumbled something about them "growing up too fast" before admitting defeat.

"Make sure you watch over her, Namine. You know your sister can get a bit _wild._ " Kairi had to suppress a roll of her eyes; Namine wasn't any different from her either, but if her "non-wildness" brought assurance to her parents, then she would humor them too.

"Of course, Dad, of course." _Yeah, right._ Kairi shot her a knowing look, which Namine returned with a happy smile.

When the two set clambered onto the boat (but not without sharing tearful hugs and farewells with their parents), they waved goodbye until their parents were mere dots along the shore. Kairi leaned across the boat's railing and sighed, wondering if Twilight Town was going to be a good place for her to reside in for the next four years.

"Twilight University, sounds amazing," Namine sighed dreamily, blonde locks shifting lightly under the ocean breeze. Of course it would to her; she had been gushing about it ever since she was a freshman in high school, and it was a dream for her to attend it. Twilight University was a pretty hard college to get into. Kairi would never forget the way Namine stuffed herself in _their_ room studying until her eyes bled for the entrance exam while Kairi took refuge on the couch for the entire week. Apparently, her presence was a disturbance, so the couch was her best friend for that week. A few months later in the spring, her home was filled with loud screeches of happiness once Namine got her acceptance letter.

As for Kairi, she wondered how the heck she got in in the first place. Filling out the application form and taking the test was a last-minute decision that didn't hurt to take. Of course, she did so with the mindset that there was a high probability she wasn't even going to make it. Maybe it was her extracurriculars-she _was_ big on the whole sports and clubs ordeal, but she was definitely sure her academics were not the deciding factor. They weren't bad, but they weren't the best either-too average for Twilight University, she thought. Namine was gifted with the brains, but Kairi was gifted with the whole athletics type of thing. Polar opposite, they were, but it didn't stop them from getting along.

"I heard on the forums online that the guys were _hot_ ," Namine giggled. "It's time to shed the never-had-the-boyfriend-status and enjoy the element of love." Kairi couldn't wait to see her sister hook up with a guy. Even though she was wild, she was an innocent-wild; any guy who would get to her sister had to be a charmer.

"Already ambitious about the boy-hunt?" Kairi joked. Namine stuck her tongue out.

"You know it."

"Hm," Kairi fiddled with her gold watch-bracelet as a thought came to her, "I wonder if there are nice slopes at Twilight Town." Skateboarding was not the girliest thing in the world to do, but Kairi absolutely adored it. Feeling the wind in her face and hair tumbling in wild strands was part of her natural habit. Despite the small scars she adorned from her clumsy tumbles and falls, skateboarding was _fun_ for her.

"Kairi, your skateboard brings me fear," Namine said, faking fear. This brought Kairi to laugh a little bit. "All those dangerous flips-oh God, the blood, the blood!"

"Hey, that was when I first started. Besides, when was the last time I even had a fall?" Namine took a moment to think before raising her eyebrows slightly.

"You do make a point. Just don't do it in front of me. It brings me anxiety, and I'm not even the one on the board!"

"Scaredy-cat."

"Anyways, I wonder if Twilight Town has nice art supplies."

"I'm sure they do, you art-loving weirdo."

The trip took a good three hours before the ferry docked at the one and only port of Twilight Town. It was a big place-a lot bigger than Destiny Island. _And a lot more modernized too._ Kairi patted her purse as she eyed the tall buildings, especially the gigantic mall that was visible from the port for travelers to clearly see.

"Oh, I'm going to have so much fun."

"You bet'cha," Namine laughed beside her, lugging her suitcase along with her as they stepped down from the boat. Before they knew it, the boat that had taken them from home shipped away for its next travel. Kairi hated to admit it, but she felt a pang of homesickness as she watched the boat shrink in the distance, but she shook the feeling off and followed Namine's lead.

"The heat is killing me," Namine muttered as she fumbled with her phone, configuring with the GPS setting on it. Kairi watched in amusement as her sister had a battle with her sense of direction-or, rather, _lack_ of. "I didn't know summer in Twilight Town was this scorching."

"Not as bad as Destiny Islands, though."

"Touche." Sighing in frustration, Namine handed the phone over to Kairi. "You're better at this then me. Take it away, sis'." Kairi let out a _tch_ before grinning and setting the address for Twilight University. Apparently, it was a few blocks away, and a taxi could've just whisked them away in no time, but no.

Namine just _had_ to take this chance to sightsee.

"I like sightseeing too, Nami', but I'd rather do it when we don't have a bunch of luggage dragging on us," Kairi complained. Namine merely winked before happily skipping down the sidewalk with Kairi.

After two hours of walking, Kairi's legs were ready to collapse. She could visibly see that Namine was physically tired too, but her bubbly energy was preventing her from passing out and becoming a sizzling egg on the sidewalk. The GPS finally led them to this humongous area that Kairi had a hard time believing was the university, but when she saw the huge board with the words "Welcome to the Home of the Moogles" scrawled on it in the front with "Twilight University" underneath, she realized it wasn't a delusion.

"Holy crap," Kairi let out in amazement, eyes scanning the large campus. Their grass was so green that it looked fake, like the ones in the football fields. The clock tower in the center was beautifully constructed as it sat in the middle to guide those who would be lost in the large campus. The university building itself was something that looked like some sort of wizard school she saw in movies a lot.

Over at the side, Kairi could see Namine and her amazement spilling out of her body as her eyes took in everything in delight.

"Gosh, Kairi, it's beautiful, I can cry rivers of joy."

"Save it after we finally get rid of our suitcases, _please._ " It didn't take too long for them to get settled into their dorms. Unfortunately, the two did not share a room, but the fates wouldn't let them be too far apart; their rooms were just a floor apart from each other. When Kairi entered her dorm, she was slightly taken aback from the slight disorder in it, as if her roommate was in a rush, but it wasn't that bad. Looking around, her roommate was nowhere in sight.

"Guess I'll say hi later." Ridding herself of her luggage, she took out a few things before deciding to unpack the rest later during the night when she wasn't too tired. She changed into a fresh clothing-the smell of the ocean sea-salt stuck on her a little bit too much-which was just a simple rose-pink romper Namine had bought for her last year. Taking out her skateboard during the process, Kairi checked herself out in the mirror and scratched her head in hesitation.

Clothing like this was a little bit too girly for her (only Namine was capable of getting her these type of clothes), but it didn't mean she didn't like wearing them. It also wasn't the perfect attire to skateboard in, but it was way too hot outside. Kairi also hesitated whether or not she needed to wear protective gear, but decided against it.

Exactly when was the last time she fell? She laughed to herself. _Not going to happen anytime soon._

She had a lot of time to kill, and what better way to spend it then to explore and discover new places to skateboard? Namine could wait. Kairi could already imagine her sister just decorating the hell out of her room and personalizing it to her tastes.

"Wonder how her roommate would feel about it." Although, she didn't have to worry that much; Namine always did have a talent in art.

Once Kairi stepped foot off the campus, she set her skateboard down and embarked onto her adventure in exploring the town. Highly populated and popular, Twilight Town was a place she always saw featured on TV, since all the big events were held in it: movie shootings, premieres, concerts, all the big things and so forth. Kairi low-key wondered if she would ever stumble across some big-shot celebrity and maybe even get a picture.

Entering a smooth street, she basked in the wind, relishing the feeling of the cool yet humid breeze against her body. Compared to the heat in Destiny Island, the temperature here wasn't too bad. However, she had to admit, the smooth streets of Twilight Town were _amazing._ She could get used to this.

She did a three-sixty flip before her eyes landed on a sweet metal railing. A fond memory of her fearing for her life when she first skidded down one flashed through her mind, emitting a laugh from her. It was scary indeed, but it wasn't scary anymore once she got the hang of it. From the looks of it, the metal railing didn't look too steep either. Kairi went ahead and jumped onto it, heart thumping in exhilarating excitement.

 _When was the last time I even had a fall?_ her question echoed in her mind as she found herself freefalling the next second right after she took on the railing.

 _Now,_ she ironically thought before plummeting to her death.

"Dude, watch out!" Before she knew it, her body painfully collided against someone else's with skateboard flying somewhere else. Pain coursed through her body as her bare skin scrapped across the cement.

"Sweet mother of moogles, are you two okay?" She heard a small groan from beneath her before someone helped her stand up. She grimaced when she saw the small trickle of blood run down her knees. _What a great day to wear a romper._

"I'm alrigh-shit." She looked down to see a boy now sitting on the ground and clutching his wrist in pain. The first thing that struck her mind was how spiky his hair was, but it wasn't bad looking at all. Rather, it looked surprisingly _attractive._ The next thing she took note of was the silver crown necklace around his neck, and she felt the pain at her collarbone. One of the sharp edges the crown must've dug into her skin. His attire that consisted of a black and red jacket with black skinny jeans would've looked good too if not for the new holes adorning the kneecaps of his pants and dirt smeared on his jacket.

Lastly, the shocking blue eyes that locked with hers was what made her question if any eyes could be blue and deep like his.

"That looks like it hurts," a masculine voice said behind her. She quickly stood her own ground and turned to thank whoever helped her. His hair was something that also kind of freaked her out. Who went with the long and silver look nowadays? But it suited him.

"No shit," the boy on the ground spat before standing up and dusting himself with his left hand which was not injured. Kairi looked at his appearance and began to apologize profusely.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," she blabbered. "Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, are y-who am I kidding, that looks very painful and-"

"It's alright," the boy cut in, not giving her another glance as he felt around his wrist. "If anything, you should look at yourself." The silver-haired boy went over to the side for some reason before returning with the two halves of her skateboard in both his hands.

"Is this yours?" he asked meekly. Kairi paled at the sight and went to tend her to her baby, forgetting all about her injury as she took it within her hands.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said devastatingly. It was late grandmother's gift for her birthday a few years back, and now it was just destroyed.

"I think a car accidentally ran over it," the silver-haired boy said, offering an explanation, but that, of course, didn't make it any better. "It was crazy. It went swoop and-"

"Drop it," the spiky-haired boy said. You're not making it any better." _Damn right, he isn't._ He looked over at Kairi and her bleeding knees and elbows before sighing. "Worry about that thing later, you're literally bleeding on the streets."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"This isn't just a _thing_ ," Kairi argued, not liking how insignificant he made her skateboard seem. She was very unnerved when he simply just stared at her, as if he was trying to figure something out. She wondered if she looked weird or something for him to look at her intently before he snapped out of it and frowned slightly. He turned towards the silver-haired boy and jerked a thumb towards a direction down the street.

"Hey, don't you have a first-aid kit in your car?"

"You know I'm not that handy."

"Right. Why did I even ask?"

"Hey, what's that suppose to mean?"

"You go to Twilight University?" Kairi widened her eyes. _And how the heck did he know that?_ She observed him as he looked at a particular direction on the ground. She followed his line of sight and chuckled awkwardly-her school ID was just laying there on the street after slipping out of her pocket. She hurriedly bent down to pick it up while the spiky-haired boy tried to do something with his wrist, only to hiss in pain. This only made Kairi feel guiltier.

Namine was so going to kill her later and forever nag her whenever she goes out boarding now.

"Let me grab the car," the silver-haired boy said before disappearing. Kairi bit the bottom of her lip as she finally took note of the stinging pain of her knees and elbows. If only that stupid soccer ball didn't just shoot out from nowhere... Sighing, she looked at her broken skateboard before turning back to look at spiky-haired boy. His wrist was starting to turn a very nasty purple.

"Sorry," she tried again. Even if he did kind of diss her skateboard, that didn't stop her from feeling extremely bad for hurting someone in her accident. "I'll pay for hospital expenses, although it might take a long time since-"

"Forget it, it's fine," he cut in once more. She wasn't sure if he was just being forgiving or whatnot, but it kind of gave her a sense of relief; her budget wasn't the brightest thing to look at right now. His eyes kept fleetingly darting between her knees and the ground before sighing. Fishing out a handkerchief from his jeans, he took it out and handed it to her. "People are looking at you." Kairi looked around. Indeed, people were questioning why there was a girl standing there all bloodied with two halves of a skateboard in her hand. Embarrassed, she settled her skateboard down and sat on one of the steps of the stair.

"It's okay. I don't want it to get stained."

"That's the last thing you should be worrying about right now." Though his tone was quite biting and condescending-and she hated it when people talked to her like that-he was right. Taking his handkerchief, she winced as she dabbed at her injuries and hoped it wouldn't scar.

"Hop on!" The silver-haired boy arrived by the sidewalks with windows rolled down. "You too!" Kairi, dumbstruck, pointed at herself, which he nodded to in response. "You're going to make us feel like assholes if we just left you bleeding there. We'll take you to wherever you need to be." Kairi pursed her lips; it _was_ a long way back to the university. Taking his offer, she wobbly stood up and trudged towards the very new-looking, black car with broken skateboard in her hands. The spiky-haired boy followed close behind.

"Mind going to Twilight University?" she asked.

"Oh, we go there t-"

"Hey, you do know I was just testing you earlier, right?" the spiky-haired boy said jokingly to the silver-haired boy, unintentionally cutting him off. Kairi didn't think he could sound like that, considering how he spoke to her. Then again, she barely even knew the guy.

"What?" As Kairi took a seat in the back, the spiky-haired boy bent down and opened the compartment of the car in front of the passenger seat and, much to the silver-haired boy's astonishment, took out a first-aid kit.

"I knew putting this in your car would come in handy one day," he commented before shutting the passenger door. The silver-haired boy looked frantically between his compartment and the spiky-haired boy.

"And when the hell did you put that in my car?"

"The things you don't notice, my friend." The spiky-haired boy opened the door to the back and slid in right next to Kairi, startling her a bit, before he began work. The silver-haired boy muttered something about how his car suddenly didn't feel like his anymore before setting off towards the university. Kairi looked out the window as the spiky-haired boy sprayed his wrist with a pain relief spray before wrapping it up with white bandages. Looking at the barely-visible reflection of him off the window she was facing, she was quite impressed at how he was able to do that one-handedly.

She narrowed his eyes slightly when she turned around and saw what was in his hand next.

"What are you doing?" Kairi asked dubiously, eyeing the disinfectant spray in his hand. He cocked an eyebrow. He didn't even bother answer her as he shook it, knowing fully well that she knew what he was going to do next. "I think I can do it myself." She remembered how her mother had sprayed the horrid stuff on her mercilessly when she was young, not caring how much it hurt her.

"You'll probably spray it in your face, if anything," he replied, signaling towards her elbows. "Don't make this difficult." Sighing, she surrendered.

"Don't get that stuff in my car," the silver-haired boy warned as he drove along the streets. "I hate that smell."

"I know this isn't perfume-hell, if it was, that wouldn't be too good-but it's better smelling than that weird cologne of yours. What was it, Sunshine Reincarnation?" Kairi suppressed her laughter. What kind of cologne brand was _that_?

"As long as the ladies dig it, it doesn't matter."

"Whatever keeps you asleep at night." The spiky-haired boy gave the spray a final shake before he aimed it at her elbow, facing it away from her face. His first spray was simple and short, but that was enough to make Kairi yelp in pain. He paid no attention to her complaints and continued disinfecting her injuries before slapping on a couple of bandages on it.

"Thanks," she muttered weakly, patting her bandages to make them feel more comfortable. He let out a "mhm" in response and shut the first-aid kit closed.

"You go ahead and take that with you," the silver-haired boy said.

"Why not in your ca-"

"I'll put my own first-aid kit, mind you." The spiky-haired boy chuckled slightly in amusement.

"Alrighty then."

Once they had arrived in the front of the university, Kairi eagerly exited out the car. She was not comfortable with the fact that she had ridden in a car with two complete strangers. The earlier they left, the more at ease she would feel.

Yes, her stranger danger alert rang loudly, and it needed to be turned off.

"Thanks for the ride," she said hurriedly. The silver-haired boy flashed her a peace sign.

"Anytime for a cute girl like you." _Oh God._ Kairi laughed nervously. It was okay; it wasn't like it was the first time it happened, but it was definitely the last time she was going to see these two anymore. "Kind of feel bad about your skateboard. I actually know a place, do you want to-"

"No, no, it's okay," she interrupted suddenly, wanting to skedaddle the hell out of their presence. "I'll take care of it on my own. Sorry for the trouble," she glanced at spiky-haired boy through the rolled-down window. He was too busy looking at his phone to acknowledge what she was saying. _Rude._ "Well, see you."

"Alright. Be careful next time!"

"Will do." Kairi waved good bye to the silver-haired guy as he backed up and zoomed on the streets and out of her sight. Releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding, she took one last look at her skateboard and sighed.

"Namine's going to kill me." Raising her eyebrows, she realized that she was still holding on to the spiky-haired boy's handkerchief when she felt inside the pockets of her romper. "Shit." Taking it out, she examined the bloody mess on it and sighed. "It's a nice one too." It was a light-red plaited handkerchief, and on the bottom were the initials S.H. adorned in the corner. "Must be his name." Giving it one last look, she shrugged to herself and stuffed it back into her pocket.

"Not like I'm going to see him again."

"What the fuck, Kairi?" Kairi looked up, only to meet the horror-stricken face of Namine's. Kairi laughed nervously.

"What's up, Namine?"

 **Chapter 1! I'm new to this whole thing, so reviews/advice/criticism are highly appreciated! I just love this shipping 3 pls no flames my poor writing heart probably won't be able to take it /3 Hope this was okay!**


	2. Chapter 2

"What did I say, huh? What did I say?" Kairi winced when Namine ripped the band-aids off to properly treat her injuries, since the treatment she received earlier was just temporary. "You know, I always knew you were going to fall, but no, since you'll, quote quote, 'never fall.'"

"Way to rub salt into wounds," Kairi muttered. They were currently in Kairi's room after Namine spotted her outside after her quick art-supply shopping. The look on her face wasn't something Kairi was delighted to see. It was first from surprise, which transformed into horror, which then converted to a look of pure anger as she started lecturing her right in front of the university. Kairi could already imagine people talking about her. _The redhead getting yelled at by a blondie right in front of the university entrance._ It wasn't something people see every day.

"I know that board was precious to you, but maybe finally you can take a break from it," Namine scolded. "Grandma wouldn't want you to be all battered up like this either."

"It was just a mistake," Kairi tried, but it was no use. Namine put on some petroleum jelly where her injuries were before slapping on fresh new band-aids. Kairi moved around to stretch the band-aids before swinging her legs on top of her new bed and leaned against the post.

"Thank God that guy you mentioned was in the way, or else you would've been somewhere _not_ on Earth," Namine continued, roasting her until the very end as she put away the materials. "Flying off a metal railing, _unimaginable!_ " Kairi pursed her lips as her sister went on and on. Namine was such a total mom sometimes. "Better thank him the next time you see him."

"I probably won't," Kairi mused, tapping on her phone. "Plus, I don't think he would be happy to see me either."

"No one would after all that, but why?"

"I think I broke his wrist along the way."

" _You broke his wrist?_ " Kairi bit the bottom of her lip. Did she forget to mention that to her? _Oops._ "Kairi!"

"Well, I'm sorry!"

"Ouch, that looks like it hurts a lot." Kairi and Namine turned around to look at whoever said that and were faced by a black-haired girl standing by the open door with keys jingling in her hands. She raised an eyebrow at the band-aids stuck on Kairi before offering the two a smile and closing the door behind her. "So, which one of you two is my new roommate?"

"Oh, that would be me," Kairi responded, getting off the bed and trying to make herself look presentable by combing a few fingers through her hair. "Nice to meet you."

"Sorry I wasn't here earlier," the girl said as she placed her keys on the lamppost besides her bed. "I was out in a rush, so I couldn't stay to greet you properly. The name's Xion. You?"

"Kairi. Kairi Lockhart, and this," she pulled Namine by the shoulders, "is my sister, Namine."

"You two look awfully similar, minus the whole hair color and all." Namine and Kairi looked at each other for a split second before laughing.

"We get that a lot." Xion scratched her head in awkwardness before bending down and picking up all the stray clothes and accessories strewn all over the floor.

"Sorry that you had to come in seeing all this."

"No, it's fine. I left it alone because I didn't want to move your things around and stuff."

"All's good." Kairi was elated that her roommate seemed pretty chill and nice. She was scared she wouldn't get along with her, but that didn't seem to be it. Xion tidied up the place a little bit more before sitting down on her own bed and releasing a huge sigh.

"Gosh, I would talk more, but I'm seriously pooped out. Been running errands for my mom the whole afternoon. Need some shuteye." Kairi quirked an eyebrow up slightly.

"Your parents lives around here?" Xion nodded as she fluffed up her pillow.

"Yup. Not staying with my family though. I love them and all, but it's college life, you feel me? Space, I need some of that, so." Namine nodded her head furiously.

"I agree!" Xion chuckled before turning to the side and placing her phone by the side.

"Well, I'll chat with you guys later, maybe. Good night for now." Kairi giggled.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite."

To let Xion have some peace and quiet, the two exited out the room and skipped down the hallways and out the girl's dormitory to look around the campus. There weren't a lot of people roaming around with them. Namine had insisted to settle in a week before the year even started so that she could have a "last-minute summer vacation." Kairi didn't have any plans for the whole exploring thing, but she tagged along anyways.

"I did a virtual tour of the campus online, but I didn't think it would be this big," Namine said, impressed by the whole thing. "I want to look around so that I don't become a lost duck when school starts."

"That's why there's a thing called a map," Kairi interjected, wondering how in the world Namine was able to continue walking in the heat. Namine simply rolled her eyes and continued to stroll across the pillared halls of the outdoor campus. Squeaky clean, the tiles were. Clearly, the janitors were hard at work.

"Sora, I'm telling you, don't kick the ball into garden fence, or else the dean's going to freaking kill you," Kairi heard a voice call out from the other side of the garden fence that separated them. With all the vines growing and threading through the fence, she couldn't see what was going on the other side, but by the tone of the speaker, it sounded troublesome.

"Who said I was going to kick it into the garden fence?" replied the other person who must've been the Sora the other guy was addressing. "Dude, watch this awesome foot coordination and lear-holy crap!" Kairi and Namine had their hearts leap out of their throat when something crashed against the garden fence from the other side, the clanging of chains ringing in their ears.

"Oh God," Kairi let out, taking two huge steps back from the garden fence.

"Look what you did, Sora! The dean's wife has been trying to grow that paopu fruit for months and now it's dead on the ground. Hey, look, man, I don't know you. I'm outta here," and Kairi heard footsteps running away from the crime scene.

"Hayner, wait! Seriously?" The Sora guy must've been conflicted before he started to get the hell out of there too. However, before he did, he must've seen Kairi's and Namine's silhouettes, for he approached the fence from the other side and gave it a slight tap. Kairi looked at the vined-fence and raised a brow at Namine, who shrugged playfully. "Sorry about that."

"No biggie," Kairi naturally responded, a slight humorous tone coating her words. No other words were exchanged as the mysterious guy took a run for his money and escaped the place, leaving Kairi and Namine to giggle at the strange occurrence.

"Interesting students here."

"Yup."

By the end of the day, Namine had her worth of touring the school before she called it quits and returned to her dorm. Kairi began to count the days before Namine's excitement finally ran out of energy.

While Namine was a day grazer, Kairi was a night walker. Namine absorbed the sunlight while Kairi took in the moonlight. It was better for her, to say the least. If she had an inner mythical being, then a vampire would definitely fit her type of picture.

The school's bright lights along the gravel pathway she was walking down across truly enhanced the feeling that she was at a different place far from home. Back at Destiny Island, instead of electricity, lanterns lit the roads and pavements. It wasn't as if it didn't have electricity-of course it did-but the islanders liked to keep things... _natural._ Kairi liked it that way too, but she would grow to get used Twilight Town's technology one day.

On the other side of the campus, where the boy's dormitory laid, a certain spiky-haired boy and silver-haired boy were with a few of their friends cramped into one, single dorm for a late night party full of gaming.

"Sora, who got _you_ all messed up?" Axel, a flame-head said, trying not to erupt into obnoxious laughter as he jammed his fingers on a controller. Sora, who was lying across his bed, was left out on all the fun as he scrolled through his phone with his non-injured hand. "With all your clothes scratched and ripped along with that sexy broken wrist of yours, I'm starting to wonder what the hell you do outside school, man."

"Shut it, Axel," Sora growled before throwing his phone off to the side. Riku, the silver-haired boy, let out a scream of frustration when Axel killed him with a machine gun he had picked off by the side.

"You can't spam that shit forever, you pyromaniac!" Riku blasted, tossing the controller over to Hayner, who played hot potato with it before securely gripping it. Axel burst in laughter, hitting the floor with a fist to appease his amusement.

"For your information, just because I enjoyed setting fire during chemistry doesn't mean I'm a pyromaniac. By the way, I love gaming with you, Riku, you know why?"

"Why?"

"Cause you suck dick at it!" That earned him a nice slap on the head. Riku gave Axel one last dirty look before he went over to join Sora, who was now fumbling with the bandage on his wrist. Riku clapped him on the shoulder before jumping on the edge of the bed and sitting cross-legged on it.

"Nice bandages you got there." Sora rolled his eyes.

"In fashion, am I right?"

"Exactly how did you even-Axel, you piece of shit! Stop it with the machine gun!" Hayner glared at Axel while he cackled evilly as he enjoyed his cheap skills. "As I was saying, how did you get your wrist so screwed up?"

"I fell," Sora deadpanned, offering nothing more. Riku shot an eyebrow up. Technically, he wasn't lying, but there was a lot he was leaving out. Sora simply didn't want to waste energy explaining the whole ordeal.

"You fell." It wasn't even a question. "You fell," Hayner repeated. Sora sighed.

"What else are you trying to dig from me?"

"Doesn't sound at all like Sora Hikari to just _fall._ Riku, you were there with him, weren't you?"

"Yeah, and he obviously didn't just fall." Sora yawned, kicking Riku off the bed so that he could pull the strewn blankets up to his legs. Riku stubbornly just climbed back on it. "Guys, you won't believe what happened today. There was this really hot girl, and-"

"Almost all girls are hot to you, Riku," Axel interrupted. "What else is new?" At this, Sora laughed.

"I agree with you for once, Axel."

"No, you guys don't understand. She's hot, as in, _hot._ Sora, you can testify, can't you?" Riku looked over to Sora, much to his discomfort. Hayner dropped the game controller and whipped his head towards Sora, not giving a damn anymore as Axel continued to sabotage his avatar with the machine gun.

"What is this juicy detail I'm hearing?" Sora groaned as Hayner jumped onto the bed with Riku and leaned in closer towards Sora. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Personal space, Hayner, personal space," Sora complained, using his free hand to push his face away. "I'm not testifying anything, so go away."

"You guys should've seen it," Riku went on. There was this girl skateboarding on this metal rail and-well, I don't know what happened, but she went flying off her skateboard and boom! Sora caught her from death, but he broke his wrist in the process." Hayner, and now Axel, looked at Sora with curious eyes, and before they could form any weird conclusions like the weirdoes they were, Sora shut them down.

"What was I suppose to do, let some idiotic skateboarder crash into her death?" Riku shook his head.

"That's beside the main point. Guys, she was ridiculously hot-"

"And you've said that a lot already. Pics for proof, or no go," Hayner stated firmly, shaking his head slightly. Sora shut his ears from the whole conversation, never interested whenever his friends started to talk about girls.

"I think she goes here too, actually. We drove her back over here like a few hours ago. I wonder what year she's in." _First year_ , Sora thought plainly, remembering the ID that fell on the ground. Of course, he decided to keep that information to himself, since Riku would go into stalker-mode and all if he found out. Riku was a great friend and all, but Sora would've liked it better if Riku dropped his womanizing ways and settled with one girl.

Then again, if he was serious about the redhead, that would mean he wouldn't have to tag along to his stupid parties anymore. Sora smiled grimly.

 _Yeah, right._ Riku serious about a girl? Not in million years.

"Anyways, enough about this mysterious redhead, do you guys know what the hell Sora did today?" Riku gave Sora a questioning look, which he returned with a nervous laugh. He knew exactly what Hayner was about to say.

"Do tell."

"You know that paopu fruit the dean's wife has been trying to grow since the dawn of mankind?" Riku and Axel paled while Sora groaned.

"Don't tell me he," Axel said no more when Hayner nodded his head gravely.

"This fool knocked that shit down like a coconut falling from a palm tree. I specifically told him not to kick the ball, but no, this boy doesn't listen."

"It wasn't intentional," Sora tried weakly. Riku ran a hand down his face.

"Watch. An announcement's going to go up at the start of school sometime soon with your name written all over it." Sora shrugged.

"Not like they're ever going to find out that who did it. Plus, it's just a paopu fruit, right?" Sora put his okay hand underneath his head and stared at the ceiling, wondering why the paopu fruit was such a big deal.

 _Destiny, huh?_

He laughed.

~.~.~

"Good afternoon, fellow gifted students of Twilight University. This is your dean speaking." Kairi let out a large groan of complaint, along with Xion, as their slumber was awoken by the annoying speaker by their left side. Whoever installed an announcer in the dorms had a price to pay. "It is quite early in the morning, but this is a reminder that picking up schedules is later today, as well as a welcome party for the entire new upcoming freshman later tonight. Another fabulous year is about to begin."

"Yeah, right," Xion muttered, voice muffled by the pillow on her face. Kairi reluctantly got up; once she was woken up, there was no chance of falling back asleep.

"That is all, I believe. Oh, and on a personal note, to whomever... _damaged_ the garden fence during the afternoon three days ago," at this, a familiar twinge struck Kairi, "I hope you realize that we are undergoing thorough investigation right now. That is all."

"Oh my God, sucks to be that person," Xion said with a shudder. "Someone must've touched that always-green paopu fruit of his or something." Kairi cocked her head to the side questioningly for an explanation of this mysterious fruit. She remembered the Sora and Hayner guy making a big deal out of it, but she had no idea it was such a gigantic fuss.

"Who cares about a damn fruit?"

"Right? Apparently, the dean's wife does. A big sucker for romance." Kairi furrowed her eyebrows a bit.

"Romance?" Xion nodded, admitting defeat to the sun as she pushed the blankets off of her and made a way towards the closet.

"There's a whole folklore behind it. They say the paopu fruit connects the fates of people who encounter it together. When shared, their destinies become intertwined. Sounds like something, huh?" Kairi laughed.

"Cute, but cheesy," she said with a smile before joining Xion in preparing herself.

She learned that Xion actually wasn't a first year, but a second year. With that, she allowed Xion to show her around with her _insightful_ knowledge.

"Over there's the make-out corner," Xion stated informatively, bluntly pointing at a spot that was at the far end of the school. Kairi blinked rapidly as she saw couples getting it on rather early underneath the large palm tree. "If I were you, I would stay far away from this area." Kairi, who found it bizarre, blinked one more time before she processed what Xion said and coughed awkwardly. Xion sure liked to lay things out there.

"Is it really designated as that?"

"I shit you not, that corner's for all the couples who want to smack faces with each other. Okay, next!" Kairi couldn't help but be dragged by Xion's pace as she showed Kairi _unique_ places. Kairi made a mental note to show Namine the same tour sometime later.

"And over there is the druggie hangout, behind those trees." Xion made sure to stay far away from the place she was indicating to with a finger, so Kairi wasn't sure what she meant by that.

"What?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. No college is complete without the circle of addicts. It's where all the crack heads enjoy their poison," Xion said, waving a nonchalant hand as if what she was saying was a typical thing. "But I'm sure you won't encounter any of them. They like to hang out in their own secluded area in the campus no one ever dares to venture in, so you're safe." Kairi gulped nervously.

"Alright, then."

Besides the weird places Xion showed her, some were actually helpful. She showed her which shacks to buy from and which ones to avoid. The school surprisingly had a lot of club-ran food shops, but that didn't mean they were all good. Xion also gave her advice about certain social groups, and Kairi tried to pay attention, but she wasn't really interested in that stuff.

"A lot of people are nice, but some are just plain bitches. Better stay away from them before they get a nab at you. You may never know; those closest to you might kill you one day." Kairi sighed; she couldn't have agreed more.

After a while, Xion received a phone call from one of her friends. She had to leave Kairi to wonder the campus alone. However, before she left, she made sure Kairi knew where to go to pick up her schedule.

"Look, cross fingers with me," Xion ordered before she went off. Kairi slowly raised her hands and did what Xion was doing. With closed eyes, Xion began to mutter things Kairi didn't get the context of. "Please don't let us get Sephiroth as our PE teacher, please don't let us get Sephiroth for our PE teacher, please, please, please." Xion then clasped her hands over Kairi, clutched them tight, and did another mental prayer before releasing them and sighing a breath of relief.

"And what was that for?" Kairi questioned quizzically, more freaked out than before.

"You don't want to know," Xion explained grimly before departing. "Send me a picture of your schedule so I can determine your fate!" Kairi simply nodded her head in amusement as she watched Xion's figure disappear into the crowd of incoming freshmen. Kairi faced forward in the direction of the tables and booths where all the scheduling was happening and took a deep breath.

"Moogles, have mercy on me." Maybe this year, her string of teachers won't be as horrible as they were back in high school. _Don't even go there, Kairi._

~.~.~

"Give it, give it to me," Axel beckoned, reaching for the flimsy schedule in Sora's hand. He held it away from his reach warily.

"Wait, I didn't even look at it yet."

"That's the whole freaking point." Sora sighed and surrendered his schedule over to Riku and Axel, who grabbed at it excitedly. "Who do we have this year out on the dish?"

"You know what?" Sora ruffled his hair and twiddled with his crown necklace. "I'm alright with whoever I get this year as long as it's not-"

"For the love of God, you got Sephiroth _again_?" Axel cackled with immense laughter, slapping his thigh to somehow calm it down. It was too much to bear for him, for his laughter started to become silent wheezes for air. Riku bit the bottom of his lip, trying to suppress his chortles as well. Sora's eye twitched as he snatched the paper out of Axel's trembling hand and scanned through his classes to confirm the horrible truth.

"What the actual fuck," Sora cursed before crumpling the schedule and stuffing it into his pocket. "This is a terrible joke."

"I never heard of anyone in history _ever_ to get him twice in a row. I think someone's pulling the strings on the system here, my buddy."

"You're not making it any better, Axel." Sora shook his head and cleansed himself from his disbelief before releasing a glum sigh. Riku patted his back for support, but it wasn't any use-unless it could get him out of the demon's class he hated so much last year.

"Welcome party, Sora, we still got a welcome party to attend. Great food, great chicks, and great-"

"Like Sora's even interested in any of that," Axel said with an eye roll before taking out his phone to check who kept messaging him. Sora wiggled his broken wrist and looked at inquisitively.

"Think Sephiroth would give me a couple of days on the bench for this thing?" Riku spluttered in disbelief.

"Keep dreaming, fool. Didn't you see poor Tidus last year?" Sora licked his lips nervously.

"What?"

"You don't even want to know. Maybe Tidus could tell you one day, but I high doubt it." Sora rubbed the side of his face with his free hand and looked up into the bleak blue sky.

"Wonder who's going to suffer with me this year."

"Definitely not us."

"Shut up. Anyway, I'm going to get some shuteye before the welcoming party. I'm going to use your room, Riku." And with that, Sora left Riku and Axel behind and lazily went back towards the dormitory. Riku ran a hand through his hair. Typical Sora. He then looked over at Axel, whose face was slightly etched with concern.

"What's gotten you all ugly?" Axel scratched his head, eyes darting between his phone and Riku before handing it over to him.

"Roxas just texted me his schedule." Riku blinked at the screen and gave it a quick scan through before groaning when he saw what Axel meant.

"Great year, am I right?"

~.~.~

The evening quickly came. Kairi waited for Namine outside her door, tapping on her elbow impatiently as the clocked ticked away.

"Namine, what exactly are you doing in there?" Kairi complained, banging on the door to catch her attention. Putting her ear near the door, she heard a lot of shuffling behind it.

"Hold your horses! I'm getting ready!"

"For _what?"_

"My roommate Selphie said that you have to look glamorous or something for this welcome party!" Namine shouted through the door. Kairi poked a finger to her cheek as she casted her eyes over what she was wearing. Regular skinny jeans with a plain pink blouse. She obviously didn't put much thought to it.

"And why must we do that?"

"I wasn't kidding about my boy hunt, Kairi." _Oh, so that's why._

After another while, Namine finally stepped out. Kairi let out a low whistle; her sister decked out. With hair curled and white dress drifting at her knees, Namine definitely wasn't kidding about touching up. Namine giggled at her sister's reaction and twirled around.

"Selphie lent me this! Isn't it cute?" Kairi cocked a suspicious eyebrow instead jokingly.

"I want to meet this roommate of yours soon." Namine took a few steps around Kairi and scrutinized her with her blue eyes, making her feel a bit uncomfortable. "What?"

"Kairi, why are you so ordinary looking today?" Kairi's mouth dropped opened.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you want me to do your hair? I mean, it's kind of quick and-"

"No, I'll pass." Kairi wasn't in the mood to even attend the whole event. Xion insisted that she should, since it was a huge tradition the school always held for students to party hard and waste all their energy before the start of the school term.

"Make new friends, y'know?" Xion had said earlier.

 _Sure._

Namine pouted slightly before smiling and stepping back to examine her sister holistically.

"It's okay, you're pretty enough." Kairi rolled her eyes before ruffling her little sister's hair affectionately, much to Namine's agitation.

"Thanks, kiddo."

"I'm only younger than you by eleven months, don't call me that." The sisters laughed before they made their way towards the pavilion where the whole thing was taking place. Already they could hear the gentle booming of the music that vibrated against the floors. Kairi wasn't really used to parties; she never did attend anything bigger than prom in high school.

However, much to her relief and surprise, the whole thing was quite calming and non-wild. People with plastic cups filled with juice-or what she hoped it to be-stood in their own little social circles. People casually talked, and nothing too out of the ordinary was happening besides the human tower that was undergoing a process of construction over at the side.

"No, you have to make sure your shoulders are firm and stable. The shoulders!" Kairi made sure not to be anywhere near the whole ordeal.

Near the adjacent side to them, Hayner elbowed Sora repeatedly in an animated manner, causing the boy to choke slightly on his drink.

"What?" Sora hissed, swatting Hayner's hand away. "What's gotten you all jumpy?" The khaki-blonde pointed excitedly at a direction to which Sora gave an indifferent glance towards.

"Is it me, or is that girl smoking?" Sora lazily roamed his eyes around to see who exactly his friend was talking about before landing his eyes on a certain redhead, who was looking around like some lost but fascinated sheep with a blonde that looked strikingly similar to her. He couldn't help but notice how _plain_ she dressed, considering the fact she wore something ridiculous while skateboarding.

"Ah," Sora let out accidentally as a sort of realization, but Hayner took it as a sign that of interest and circled an annoying arm around his shoulders.

"I'm totally digging that blonde right now. Think I can hit her up?" Sora shrugged him off roughly before turning around, not wanting to get involved with Hayner's terrible habit of picking up girls.

"Ask Riku. He'll be your partner in crime."

"You're right." And Hayner went off trying to find the silver-haired boy who was probably on it already with the girls. That was what the whole welcoming thing was for: _getting to know other people._

"Sora!" In response to his name, he turned around and was met with a heavy shove to his side. He was about to throw a big one at who he assumed to be Axel, but froze when he realized it was not him at all and had to cast his gaze down slightly.

"Xion," he voiced out, suddenly uncomfortable. However, the girl didn't take notice as she fist-bumped the side of his arm in a happy manner. "It's not nice to greet someone with a push."

"Don't get so grumpy," she giggled. She made eye contact with him, only for him to avert his gaze over to the ridiculous human pillar that was being made right next to the table of punch. _Idiots._ She frowned before putting a finger between his eyebrows to unravel the tension it held, causing him to stiffen immensely. "Don't tell me you're still uncomfortable." He bit his bottom lip before returning his sharp gaze at her.

"Not really." Xion didn't look convinced, but she let the matter slide anyways and looked around.

"Where's your usual gang? You look like a loner from afar."

"Can't you say it in a nicer way?" he joked, taking a sip of his punch. He jerked a thumb over to where Hayner was. "There's one idiot over there." There he was over at a distance underneath a lamppost, trying to spark up a chat with the blonde girl he was referring to earlier. Sora would be lying if Hayner was hitting it smooth; the blonde looked so uncomfortable that Sora slightly pitied her. _He needs to drop it._

At the very, very back of his mind, he noted how the redhead wasn't there anymore.

"Hayner does realize he doesn't have the skills for girls, right?" Xion mused, watching the whole thing with Sora. Sora placed a hand over his face when he witnessed the terrible scene of Hayner trying to offer her a cup of punch, only for some to swish out of the cup and nearly splash on her pure white dress. The blonde took a small step back in surprise while Hayner apologized profusely.

"I'm so embarrassed that I'm friends with him." Xion clapped Sora on the back in an assuring way with small chortles of laughter before she had to attend to the phone that was ringing in her pocket. At the corner of his eye, he saw who the caller was, tightened his jaw, and looked away.

"Yo, what's up, Rox'?" Pause. Sora heard the mildly panicked voice on the other end of the line. "Axel did _what?_ Oh, hell no. Yeah, yeah, I'll be right there." She ended the call and looked at Sora sheepishly. He merely sighed.

"What did that idiot do this time?"

"Strip poker."

"Well, that's not that bad, considering it's Axe-"

"In public."

"Oh." Sora grimaced before waving good bye to Xion even before she even excused herself. "Good luck."

"I need it," and with that, she whisked away to go tend to the wild pyromaniac, leaving Sora alone once more. He swirled the remaining liquid in his cup as he watched her figure shrink before sighing.

"I wonder where Riku is."

Kairi was in the middle of picking food onto her plate when Namine suddenly returned back with her arm hooked on Kairi's. Kairi turned towards her and chuckled.

"Whoa, Nami', back so early?" Kairi teased. "What happened with that one guy? Hayner?" Namine shook her head and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear.

"He's nice, but..." Kairi continued to get food on her plate.

"But?"

"He's kind of too clumsy. So, uh, had to scooch on out of there. He almost spilled punch on this _white_ dress that isn't on mine, so I said I had to make a beeline to the bathroom."

"Must be rough attracting guys, isn't it?" Namine clicked her tongue at her sister, slipping her arm out and reaching towards her own plate of food.

"Like you're the one to talk. I don't know if you've noticed, but people are giving up their time to look at you." Kairi didn't bother paying attention to those around her to even notice. She let out a hum and twirled a few of her red locks with a finger.

"Redheads are rare, don't you think?"

"Kairi, you obviously know that's not what I'm talking about." She merely shrugged in response and poked at a piece of chicken with the spoon that was available.

She knew Namine was just looking out for her, but sometimes it got a little bit too much. Love wasn't on the top of her agenda, and wasn't going to be anytime soon. If only Namine could understand that, then she wouldn't have to deal with her constant nagging whenever they touched upon the subject.

 _Who's the older sister here?_

"Food here is different," Namine noted. Kairi thanked the gods that she finally switched the subject. "It's more..."

"Unhealthy?" Namine laughed.

"That's the right term." Kairi poked at all the fried food and wondered if it was a trend here in Twilight Town.

As the two ate their food near the stands, they watched as the night became darker. With the pavilion only illuminated by the tall lampposts surrounding it, the welcoming party began to grow more chaotic as people started to jam to the increasingly roaring music and grow more intimate with each other near the dance area. Kairi made sure to stay far, _far_ away from that.

"Party hard, study harder," Namine stated ironically as she munched on pea pod-which was the only thing healthy that they offered, even if it was a bit too salted. "Actually can't wait to start school."

"That's you," Kairi said with mock disgust. "I never saw anyone else sniff new textbooks with delight. I'd rather burn mine."

"That's just you, Kairi," Namine shot back before grinning. Kairi smiled in return and continued munching on pea pods with her sister, determined to just stay back and watch the craziness unfold before her eyes.

However, this peaceful thought broke when Kairi looked behind Namine's head to spot a figure that was too familiar. Squinting her eyes into the darkness, she took an intake of breath when she realized who it was-she could spot that silver-hair from a mile away.

It was the same guy who witnessed her devastating skateboard mishap. _Oh no._

"Shit," Kairi cursed. Namine, with raised eyebrows, turned to look at what had gotten Kairi all shaken up, but Kairi prevented her from doing so by spinning her back to face her.

"Kairi, what's wrong?"

"Uh, nothing," Kairi said hurriedly-she did not want to encounter the guy for various reasons. After that life-scarring experience of nearly smashing her head open on the streets, Kairi would like to avoid any more reminders. Her mind slowly started to connect the dots to form a deadly revelation.

If that silver-haired dude was here, that meant the guy she broke the wrist could possibly be here too.

She definitely did not want to see that.

"You know what, Namine, I think I'm going to go back to my dorm," Kairi muttered, piling a ton of food on her plate for dinner tonight. "My party mood is exponentially decreasing."

"Wait, Kairi-"

"If you need me, just call me. You know I respond fast to calls."

"What exactly is the rush? It's like you saw a ghost or something?" Kairi grimaced.

"Just avoiding the reliving of bad experiences."

" _What?_ " Kairi gave a thumbs up, feeling a bit like some sort of burglar for just snatching a crap ton of food the way she did just a second ago, and patted Namine's shoulder with a free hand.

"Hope you hit it off well with guys. Don't jump into bed too early, if you know what I mean."

"Kairi!" She wasn't planning to stay another second longer as she noticed how much closer the silver-haired guy was.

"Wait, Kairi-"

"Bye, Namine." Kairi turned around to head back towards her dormitory.

And when she thought things couldn't have gotten worse, it got worse.

"Kairi! Be-!"

 _Plop!_

"-hind you..." Kairi yelped in surprise when she rammed into something _not_ movable through and, in a flurry of surprise and shock, felt her plate of food mash against something that was definitely not behind her the last time she checked. She felt the Twilight sauces sink into some parts of her blouse the instant she collided with whatever was in her way, cringed when she felt a few drip onto her white shoes and cursed when the plate of food she hoarded dropped onto the ground in a complete mess.

"Holy shit, I am _so, so_ sorry," she gasped in utter devastation as she frantically looked around for napkins-she could feel a lot of eyes on her now as she scrambled for something to wipe with. "I wasn't looking at where I was going, and-" she paused and was flabbergasted when she finally had the nerve to look up to see who's outfit she fucked up this time.

She never wanted to crawl into a hole so bad.

"Sora! I finally foun-and what the fuck happened here?" Kairi hid behind a hand as the silver-haired boy finally made his way towards the whole fiasco. She could already hear Namine going over to the other side of the table to rip a few paper towels as Riku took in the whole scene.

Sora slowly reached his free hand towards his chest and, with a sharp swipe, flicked whatever he could off his clothes, only to realize that it wasn't just solid particles of food on him, but _liquid_ too.

"Really?" was all he said-and he didn't even look at her-but that was all it took for Kairi to flinch and fear for her life from now on.

 _Kairi Lockhart, I think you just made a new enemy._

 **Ahhh Chapter 2! I don't know, I had a hard time writing this chapter because I'm so bad at writing the beginning and setting the plot and all the essential stuff TT_TT I felt this was very clunky and want to rewrite it but maybe some other time HAHA. *looking forward too much to the middle than in the beginning actually***

 **Feedback is mucho appreciated! I would love to read them! *motivates me too* hehehehhehehehhe okay hope this was an enjoyable one to read for all of you :)))**

 **p.s. sorry if it's slow :( i hope pacing is alright. if not i can pick it up! hehe :)**

 **p.p.s happy holidays to everyone ! c:**


	3. Chapter 3

"You, Xion, and Roxas just love to ruin my fun times, don't you guys?" Axel grumbled as he kicked a rock off the ground. He winced when it hit the metal lamppost. Music pumped through their ears as the night got more hyper and erratic.

Hayner gave him an incredulous look.

"I don't know if you noticed, but you and your group of friends killed many people's appetites with your stark-naked butts sitting near the food table," Hayner remarked fearfully. "I'm glad Roxas and Xion were able to put your clothes on you where they belong because no one deserves to see that shit." Axel flexed, making Hayner mock a gag.

"I'm hot as fuck, you're just jealous."

"Where exactly is Sora and Riku?" Hayner said, deciding not to humor the flame-head. Axel shrugged.

"Haven't seen them all night, so-"

"I am so, so sorry!" Axel and Hayner perked their ears up and turned to where the urgent voice was coming from only to shoot their eyes out of their sockets.

"Riku and a food-splattered Sora with two hot girls, what the fuck's going on over there?" Hayner was about to go charge in to get a closer look at what was going before Axel held him back by the shoulder.

"Wait, let's watch what happens. It's not every day Sora interacts with the opposite gender."

"He does, what exactly are you talking abou-"

"Shut up and you'll see what I'm talking about." Hayner was puzzled, but listened to him anyway.

Kairi looked at Sora apprehensively while he accepted Namine's paper towels and wiped his _white_ jacket clean from the mess she landed on him, although it unfortunately didn't make it better. Riku helped her clean up the mess on the floor with a flimsy plastic spoon as Namine went over to get more paper towels. Kairi thought he was going to blow on her, but silence proved to be just as deadly as he stayed quiet.

"Bad luck keeps hitting you," Riku muttered lowly to Sora, but that didn't mean she couldn't hear it.

"Gee, I wonder why." For the first time that night, he locked eyes with her. Kairi began to feel a bit hot under his gaze and had to look away for fear of him noticing despite the darkness that encompassed them.

Seeing him for the second time, she found him ridiculously good-looking.

"I am sorry," Kairi said more slowly, hoping that doing so would somehow get her apology across to him. "It was purely an accident." Sora smiled, but it didn't quite seem to match his mood.

"How many more of my outfits do you plan to mess up so that I know which ones to prepare for the next time?" Kairi gaped at him. _Is it me or is he doing this on purpose?_ "This _was_ my favorite jacket too." Namine, who sensed that it was not their first time meeting, put two and two together when she noticed Sora's bandaged wrist and grimaced. She jabbed Kairi in the side in a subtle manner, silently scolding her.

"I am so sorry for my sister's _irresponsible_ actions," Namine said quickly and earnestly, shooting Kairi _the_ look. "If we can do anything for you, then we can-"

"No, it's fine," Sora dismissed. Kairi thought he was being a nice guy about it, but she assumed way too soon. "Can't be helped that a person is born to be a bundle of bad luck." Kairi blinked before realizing that he was full out roasting her. _This little asshole._

"Excuse me?" she spluttered in disbelief. Sora raised an eyebrow, challenging her. Riku and Namine stood in the sidelines as they watched the feud that was beginning to ignite between the two. "Look-"

"I'm looking." His oceanic eyes lazily pierced through her own, never failing to amaze her at how blue they were. The music was so loud that her chest was thumping under the vibrations uncomfortably. Finding no use in whatever she was going to say-since he was probably just going to shut her down again-she sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm sorry. Hope your jacket doesn't-" Kairi immediately ceased talking and felt her throat hitch when his free hand suddenly reached towards her. Without much of a thought of what he was doing, Sora shifted through her hair with his fingers and removed a piece of chicken that was adamantly stuck between her strands. "-stain..."

Over at the side, Axel hit Hayner on the back excitedly.

"Shit, did you see that, did you see that?" he exclaimed. "That's my boy Sora, that's my boy!" Hayner frowned.

"Dude, I think you're just overreacting."

It wasn't before he flicked the piece somewhere when he suddenly burst out laughing, startling Kairi greatly. _First he was silent, then he was an asshole, now he's just fucking laughing?_ Riku, who wasn't used to Sora acting like this, backed away slowly, a little bit scared that something inside of his dear friend snapped. Namine too took a step back.

"What?" Kairi asked, suddenly losing all the fire inside of her.

"In less than a span of three days or something, you've managed to almost die, tore holes into my clothes, broke my wrist, got me fucked up, got yourself fucked up, and now you've managed to take another crack at it and dump food all over me," he said between laughter, running a hand through his hair. "You're incredible." Kairi honestly didn't know whether or not he meant it in a good way or not.

"Can I take that as a compliment?" she blurted it out without thinking-she had no intentions of being playful, and she doubted he was in the mood for it too, but she thought wrong again.

"I don't know, should you?" He flashed her a cocky smile before noticing Axel and Hayner over at the side just standing there gawking at them. Not wanting to walk around with a food-stained white jacket, Sora shrugged it off, revealing his long-sleeved, V-neck black shirt that contrasted with the silver crown necklace twinkling under the lights. He threw it at Kairi, who fumbled with it before catching it. Instantly, the smell of his faint cologne wafted under her nose again.

"Why are you-"

"I at least expect you to wash it until it's spot-free." Kairi narrowed her eyes at him. "Spot-free," he emphasized, "You can do at least that, right?" Kairi felt her eye twitched in annoyance at the way he was talking to her.

 _Oh, I'll show you how spot-free I can get it, you cocky bastard._

"I'll make it smell nice too."

"Can't wait. C'mon, Riku, Axel and Hayner are creeping me out over there." Riku looked between Kairi and the now-moving Sora before waving goodbye to the sisters before catching up to his friend. When the two completely away from earshot, Namine ceased up on her.

"Explain." Kairi rubbed the back of her head.

"Well-"

"You know what?" Namine shook her head, "I honestly don't want to hear it. All I care about is that he's not suing your ass off."

~.~.~

"To everyone who got Sephiroth," Xion clasped her hands together, "I bless your future hearts of steel."

"You never really did tell me what's wrong with him," Kairi mentioned, folding her blankets. "Ah, shoot, that reminds me. I forgot to send you my schedule right after I got it." Xion patted her bed before shaking her head at Kairi.

"You can give it to me now. Besides, you don't want to know." Kairi lightly scratched her cheek with a finger.

"But I have him though?" The moment she announced that, Xion let her phone completely slip out of her hands, let out a dramatic gasp and rushed over to Kairi, and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Tell me that's not true." Kairi coughed awkwardly before slowly taking her hands off of her.

"I am not joking."

"Oh dear, you poor, poor soul, oh no." As if reliving a bad experience, a shudder ran through Xion's body before she shook her head and clasped Kairi's hands once more. Extremely freaked out by Xion's abnormal behavior, Kairi backed her face away from Xion's and tried not to look too visibly uncomfortable. She didn't understand what Xion was getting so worked up about-it was just PE. Kairi had confidence in her athletic build, so she wasn't too worried.

"What's wrong?"

"That guy has no sympathy. Even if your soul is crushed, battered, and flat-out destroyed, he'll continue to destroy it until it becomes only a black matter of nothingness." Xion gave Kairi a hug of assurance, which she returned hesitantly. _Xion's kind of weird._

"Thank you for your concern," Kairi tried. Xion nodded, patting Kairi's cheek.

"No problem. Here, I'll treat you out somewhere before the hell starts, m'kay?"

"Um, sure." Xion let her go and went back to fixing her bed. Picking up stray clothing from the ground, she spotted Sora's white jacket carelessly dumped on the ground near the door. Frowning, she picked it up and examined it.

"Kairi, is this yours? It looks a little bit too big for you?" Kairi looked over to see what Xion was talking about before making a face from the memory.

"Some asshole's jacket." Kairi widened her eyes when Xion took a sniff before holding it away at arm's length.

"Smells like someone I know. What's with this huge ass stain though?" Kairi sighed.

"Don't even ask."

After a week of settling in, Kairi mentally prepared for her first day of the term. Comparing schedules with Namine, she was disappointed that she shared only two classes with her: calculus II and biology. _At least I won't die in those classes._ Namine was a smart cookie.

Right when Kairi exited out the door to her room, her phone vibrated. Taking it out, she smiled when she saw Namine's text

 _Excited?!_

Kairi typed something real quick before shoving it back into her pocket.

 _Maybe._

Kairi found out that Twilight University was no joke. Used to the usual green sheets of the first day of school, she was not prepared to get straight into lectures the moment she walked into the classrooms. Kissing her sweet notebook's blank and crisp pages goodbye, she began filling them with scribbles and hoped her hand won't fall off for the entire year. All in all, she didn't find the classes too bad.

Until she stepped into the gym for the last class of the day.

Kairi blinked rapidly when she took in the appearance of her PE teacher. Long, silver hair cascaded down his back. Dressed in a full-black attire, Sephiroth held a menacing wooden stick that might've been longer than a meter stick. Kairi gulped. _I wonder what that's used for._ When she got a closer look, she was surprised to see him so young. Icy blue eyes scanned the gym as people began to fill the bleachers in front of him, and when the bell rang, he went straight into business.

"Change. Now. Five minutes." Kairi started when the bleachers instantly dispersed like ants. Boys and girls went strictly to their locker rooms, leaving Kairi to linger with the other confused freshmen who didn't know what the hell was going on.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at all of them before tapping on his elbow.

"Since you guys are new, I'll just let you off for the first day," he struck the metal bleacher, catching everyone's attention, "I don't like wasting time. When I tell you do to something, I want it done efficiently. There's no lazing around in my class," he checked his watch, "You already wasted a minute and a half just standing here-get to it." _Holy shit._ Kairi quickly heeded his words and escaped into the girl's locker room with her jersey in hand, an ominous feeling already setting itself in the pit of her stomach. Kairi felt even more worried when she saw some girl actually crying over at one of the benches as she got dressed. _What the fuck is this class?_

When she finished changing, she literally sprinted out of the locker room and joined the rest of her fellow classmates.

"Just in time, Ms. Lockhart," he said as she stood in place. Kairi sucked her lips in-how did he already know her name already? As if knowing what she was thinking, he answered her. "I made sure to know all my students before school started." Kairi swallowed. _Alright then._

And so, he went through roll call. There were a few names she recognized, including Roxas, Aqua, Wakka, and Olette, who were all in calculus with her, but the rest was just another new batch.

When he said the last name in alphabetical order, Kairi wasn't expecting him to say one last name that was not included in the order.

"Ah, my favorite student of all time," Sephiroth said with mock fondness. "Sora Hikari?" Quiet and suppressed laughter made its way through the bleaches as Kairi recognized the name. The last thing she expected to think about was the handkerchief he had lent to her.

 _So that's his name._

"Yikes," she heard someone whisper, "I never heard of anyone getting Sephiroth for a second year."

"Ah, here," came the voice. He did not sound happy at all.

"Since you are _surprisingly_ here for a second year," for some reason, Kairi felt that it wasn't a surprise at all, "Want to give a brief explanation about your experience to all your new peers?"

"It's a blast," was all he offered. What made it so darkly funny was that his voice seemed to be drained of any purpose. Sephiroth smiled, which sent shivers down her spine; this man was the embodiment of fear.

"I see you got a mishap with your wrist there." _Well, shit._ She glanced over at the spike-haired boy to see what his reaction was. He quickly hid his hands behind his back and smiled grimly.

"There's no mishap, sir."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Sephiroth chuckled, letting the matter slide.

"It's going to be a fun year, guys. Now get on out to the track." Kairi widened her eyes-already? Nevertheless, everyone did as they were told and rushed out through the double doors, but not without looking with envy at the other classes in the gym chilling by the bleachers.

"Sora!" Kairi looked over to see a few people gathering around Sora as they rushed towards the track. "How on Earth did you manage to get him _again?_ "

"He absolutely loves me, that's why," he answered lifelessly as he jogged. "Probably because I pissed him off real good last year."

"And what exactly did you do?"

"Shot him with paintballs during our paintball unit thinking he wouldn't be able to see shit in the night. That man has the eyes of a nocturnal eagle, I'm telling you, so watch out."

"You're a fucking idiot, you know that?" Wakka chided with a shake of his head. Sora smirked.

"The thrill is what I live for."

"Is that why you got a broken wrist? Why did you even hide it from him?"

"Oh, this?" Kairi swore he gave her a glance when she passed by. "I fell. As for why I hid it, Sephiroth likes to make things hard for me, so if he knew, he would like to put me through extra, unneeded pain. Fuck that, I'll pass, but I doubt he's blind, so he's already making it harder for me already."

"Ouch, must be tough."

"Don't worry; you'll confirm it for yourself soon."

In less than a minute, Kairi found herself jogging on the track on her first day of PE. In less than five minutes of doing so, she found herself to be one of the few that were still jogging. Clearly, summer inactivity in exercise bogged down on everyone as they gave up trying to keep up.

Luckily, Kairi still kept in shape during the summer.

"Sora, are you some sort of monster?" someone called from behind. She turned her head to the side to see what was going on and was surprised to see Sora effortlessly jog at the same pace he established in the beginning, necklace fluttering upon his chest with his movements. "How are you still even going?"

"When you dive straight into hell and come back out alive, you become a changed man," he answered before leaving his friend behind. Kairi tried to go faster to avoid any sort of interaction with him, but he seemed to have noticed her attempt, for he ran even faster and caught up just to piss her off.

"How's the laundry coming along?" he inquired, a bit breathless. Kairi opted not to answer him, but he just kept going. "Can't wait to see it all sparkly and new again."

"If you want, I can throw in a new and beautiful design," she shot back. "Plain white is obsolete in style."

"What exactly you do you have in mind?"

"Giving it to a cat. Heard the roughed-up image is raging right now. A few claw marks here and there is sure to give you the bad-boy look everyone's vying for."

"Yeah, and I hope that cat gives you a new makeover too in the process because the whole goody-good image is getting kind of old." _Oh, hell no._

"Buzz off."

"Wish I could or else I would've been out of here a long time ago."

"Nothing's stopping you."

"You're right-except a horrible death with that metal stick of the demon."

"Even better."

"If you two still have the breath to talk, then you still have room to go even faster!" Sephiroth's booming voice barked. Kairi let out a frustrated groan while Sora laughed.

 _This is absolutely terrific._

The moment Kairi finished running, she got changed back into her regular clothes and made a dash back towards her dorm to pass out on her bed. She thought it was weird for Sora to suddenly talk to her-since he treated her indifferently the last few times she encountered him-but it didn't take long for her to realize that he did it on purpose for sweet revenge so that Sephiroth could give her a nice talk about "finding a place to socialize other than the track." He got away scot-free since he was able to run faster to compensate while she was stuck running for an extra ten minutes after school.

When she saw the still-stained jacket on the floor upon entering her dorm, she willed herself not to put it through a shredder. Collapsing onto the bed, she was out in a second, thoughts of taking a nice shower accompanying her to sleep.

~.~.~

"Dude, you're such a jerk." Sora crossed his legs on the bench as he leaned against the wall next to it, sipping on a juice box. He rolled his eyes at Riku, who was sitting at the edge of the bench with a look of disapproval.

"Like I care."

"You're usually not like this, what's up with you?" Sora looked away, hoping that staying silent would stop Riku's bombardment of questions, but it didn't. "Wakka told me what you did to her, and that's so unlike you to bait someone out to Sephiroth."

"You just don't know me well enough."

"Sora, don't pull that shit on me; I've known you since you came out of your mother's womb." Sora tugged the collar of his flannel with a finger and shrugged, continuing to put up a nonchalant attitude. He knew that Riku hated it when he threw this attitude at him, but he also hated it when Riku started to pry.

"Whatever." Sora swung his legs over the bench and stood up, stretching his arms in the process. "Anyway, I heard a rumor somewhere that Axel and Larxene are starting to-"

"It's because she kind of looks like her-ish,, isn't it? At least the eyes are." Sora instantly shut his mouth and tightened his jaw. Riku stood up as well, which didn't make it any better since he was taller than him. Sora stuffed his hands into his pockets and cocked his head to the side, which Riku rolled his eyes at.

"What exactly are you trying to-"

"I know you're still bitter, but c'mon, you can't take it out on a girl you don't even know just because of that. It's the wrong person too. Who knows, she might be really nice. It's not every day you get to meet a girl like that who somehow encounters you in the weirdest ways."

"Right" Sora said with a roll of his eyes, giving up on his facade. "Well, it's not just that. The whole day was horrible 'cause guess what I found out today?"

"What?"

"I'm absolute garbage with my left hand. I couldn't do crap in my classes today because of _this_." He waved his wrist in front of Riku and let out a frustrated sigh. "So at the end, I got really frustrated. Try to understand me here. At least I'm not suing her butt off. If my dad found out, she would've went somewhere else worse than Sephiroth's nasty punishment."

"Then you should've just taken her offer of her helping you out rather than making her life miserable." Sora snorted and kicked an empty water bottle from the ground and was slightly satisfied to see it land inside the recycling bin.

"We'll see."

~.~.~

"Kairi, are you okay?" Namine asked worriedly, seeing the drained out expression of her sister as they ate dinner at the dinner hall. Kairi nodded slowly, stabbing her piece of beef with a fork gruesomely. Namine winced when the juices spilled out and laughed nervously. "What's gotten you in the mood of murder?"

"Some unfortunate encounters here and there."

"Like what?"

"Never mind. Anyway," Kairi turned to look at her sister and leaned an elbow against the table, "How's the first day of your dream school?" The moment she asked, Namine's eyes lit up and she began to gush her heart out.

"Oh my God, it's everything I've imagined except better! The teachers are so nice and insightful and classmates actually understand what I'm saying when I discuss about the," Kairi started to zone out on her when she started to talk about some science she had no interest in, but tried her best to look like she was indeed listening. _Namine, you are a special child._

What snapped them back into the same reality was the knock on the table beside Kairi. Namine widened her eyes just a bit, not expecting to see the sight, and signaled to Kairi to turn around. Confused, she did, and made a face when she saw him. There he stood with spiky hair still as spiky as ever with a gray sweater over a blue flannel. In the back of her head, she couldn't help but grudgingly admit that his style suited her tastes a little bit too well. A little bit farther behind him stood who she assumed to be his group of friends, including the silver-haired guy she had met numerous of times with him.

"What?" she asked dubiously.

"Kailey, right?" Namine covered her mouth to hide her laughter while Kairi narrowed her eyes at him. By the looks of it, he was actually serious.

"For your information, it's no-"

"Enough with the formalities," he stuck a hand out, completely cutting her off on purpose, "I don't think I ever introduced myself. Sora Hikari, second year." Kairi looked at the hand outstretched towards her and slowly gripped it. Of course, she wouldn't go down with a fight.

" _Kairi_ Lockhart, first year." She tightened her hold on his hand, but he showed no signs of pain. Instead, he did the same and crushed her fingers together. If she was going to be like that, he would be too. "What graces me with your presence? Haven't you had enough of mine at Sephiroth?" Sora smiled, before letting go of her hand and stuffing it in one of his pockets.

"I haven't, actually. I need more of it," Kairi felt her heart thump against her chest from his sudden statement, but it quickly died down when he continued. "Because I need someone to be my right hand man, _literally_ , since I'm handicapped." Kairi gave him a look and returned to her food, deciding to ignore him in hopes that he would bother someone else, but she felt herself stiffen when he bent down and loomed closer to her.

"W-what?" she asked again, leaning away from him.

"Let's not forget that I was nice enough to let you off the hook. My doctor says it's not that bad and that it'll heal slowly, but I can't do my normal daily things because of you."

"And?"

"Do my biddings until I'm nice and healthy again." She felt Namine kick her from underneath the table, urging her to accept his proposal. Kairi kicked back, expressing how much she didn't want to, but she wasn't that stubborn to say no to him. "It's seriously the least you can do."

"Depends, what things do you expect me to do for you?"

~The next morning~

"Holy god, brake, brake, brake! Step on the br-what the actual fuck, why on Earth are you fucking speeding up?"

"No, I can make it-no, seriously, it just turned orange-"

"Are you batshit blind? _Brake!"_ Sora held onto the grab handle of his car for dear life as he felt himself lurch forward. The sound of tires skidding pierced his ears as Kairi stepped on the brake with all her might, stopping just in time for the red stoplight. She let out a breath of relief while Sora swallowed his heart back into his chest. He swore he saw his life flash right before his eyes as he watched the cars pass the intersection where he almost died once more.

"Sorry."

"You told me you knew how to drive!"

"I do! I even showed you my license! You just didn't ask _when_ the last time I drove was, though..." Sora gave her a deranged look as she sheepishly gripped the steering wheel of his car. "It's been, uh, a while."

"And it's been a while since I met someone who drives straight out of their ass too. My left hand can drive better than both your hands, brain, and eyes combined! If I knew you sucked this much at driving, I shouldn't have asked you in the first place."

"Sounds like a fucking personal problem to me."

"It'll be your personal problem too once you kill us both with that sucky-ass driving technique of yours." Kairi tried not to pull her hair out of frustration.

Yesterday, she was assigned to one of the many tasks of driving him to and from school after learning that he actually didn't live in the dorms, but in an apartment that was a good fifteen-minute drive away. He claimed that he would not be able to drive safely with just one hand on the wheel, especially his non-dominant one, but he made the sad assumption that Kairi was a decent driver.

She was not.

He made a mental note to kill Riku and all his friends later for their crazy suggestion of making Kairi his henchmen after they evilly refused to help him out.

"She was the one who broke your wrist; she honestly can't refuse."

 _I wish she did._

"Okay, let me out, let me out," Sora begged as she swerved right into the entrance of the school. "I've had enough for today."

"You're welcome."

Kairi could feel it was going to be a _great_ year.

 **Hope this was cool enough :( Thanks for reading my story guys! I see all of y'all :^) I've been writing a lot since I'm on vacation break right now, but it's going to start slowing down (unless I procrastinate more on hw) so!11!111! Anyways, I'm really bad at writing romance (even though I'm a total sap) so let's see how this goes omg HAHA Thanks for reading again! Once more, review reviewwww it'll make me happy ToT**


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Kairi exasperated, but doing so didn't stop Sora from pushing three gigantic textbooks onto her unwelcoming arms. Sora mockingly looked at the fourth textbook before deciding to slip that onto her pile as well, not really caring that her arms were now straining to just hold them all up.

"I'm injured," he reminded her once more, but not without flashing that irritating smile of his she despised seeing. Kairi wanted to throw all these textbooks back at him, but refrained from hurting him; she already did once, and she did not like the outcome of it at all.

"Where do you want me to bring these?" she mumbled grudgingly. He pointed a finger upwards. She didn't understand his notion at first, but when he angled it towards the stairs that led to the second floor, her jaw dropped open. "Oh, hell no, your next class is so far from mi-"

"Hm," he checked his wristwatch, "I think you have time to spare."

"Then can we take the elevat-"

"I feel like doing some exercise right now." Kairi grinded her tooth in agitation-this guy was _despicable_. Nevertheless, she followed his footsteps up the daunting stairs and towards his cursed classroom where she hoped he would suffer in.

 _Because assholes don't deserve happiness._ She laughed lightly and demonically, causing Sora to look at her warily, but he didn't think too much of it-he already thought she was a little bit _weird_ since day one. From her clumsiness to her awkwardness, Kairi was...weird.

When they reached the front of his classroom, she was expecting him to somehow take his textbooks back, but he only raised an eyebrow at her.

"Straight in there, Kailey. My desk is right over there." He pointed a finger at a desk that was in the furthest back of the classroom in the corner right next to the window. Kairi, with mood worse after his on-purpose mistake with her name, trudged right into his classroom, embarrassed that everyone, who she presumed to be mostly second-years, were looking at her as she carried all his textbooks right to his desk.

 _I look like his stupid slave. He is so doing this on purpose._

"Sora, you're such a jerk." Kairi felt the burden on her arms lessen immediately and looked over to see who had saintly taken two textbooks off of the pile. With figure towering over her, the silver-haired guy she had seen so often with Sora greeted her with a smile while he carried the two textbooks with one hand with ease. Sora merely rolled before stalking over his desk. Kairi and Riku followed suit.

"Thanks so much," Sora gagged at this-her tone had instantly changed-"I wasn't sure if I could continue carrying them much longer." Riku laughed before shaking his head.

"No problem. I know Sora can be a handful sometimes."

"Shut up, Riku. Says the guy who always gets into more sticky situations than me," Sora shot back indignantly, sitting himself down at his desk. Kairi slammed his textbooks down on his desk with a thud, creating a sound that was uncomfortably loud, but she didn't really care anymore. Riku laid the other two on her pile and stuck out a hand.

"I don't think we ever introduced ourselves properly?" Kairi looked at his outstretched hand before taking it cordially, grateful that she wasn't getting any bastardly treatment from him. "I'm Riku. Riku Solari."

"Kairi Lockhart," Kairi greeted back with a smile. "You're in my calculus class, right?" Riku adorned a surprise look before grinning.

"You noticed me in the far back?" She shrugged.

"I mean, no one else has silver hair."

"No one else has pretty, red hair too." Kairi coughed awkwardly, immediately guessing that Riku was one flirty guy. Out of instinct, she glanced over at Sora, who surprisingly returned her look that told her, "Get used to it."

"Ah, thanks. It's a pain though," she said, hoping to dispel the awkward air he made for her, "It seems like everyone keeps gawking at it ever since I came to Twilight Town for some odd reason." Riku chuckled, deep voice resonating.

"It's because there's not a lot of natural redheads around here. I only know one redhead, but I don't know if it's even real. Well, your hair _is_ natural right?" He jokingly looked at it more closely, which caused Kairi to get a bit nervous, but, thankfully, he let her have her personal space back. "Looks natural."

"Of course it is," Kairi said defensively but lightheartedly. "It's my defining quality."

"Well, I'm sure it's not the only one," he said with a wink. _Yikes._ Kairi felt a bit warm.

Again, it wasn't the first time someone blatantly hit on her, but she could never get used to it. Namine had it a lot more under control while she would always grow a little bit flustered. Kairi mentally sighed as she forced a smile for Riku.

Not like she'll ever believe such empty compliments anymore.

"Please, not in front of my desk, _please_ ," Sora pleaded as he leaned the side of his face against the palm of his hand. Riku merely laughed while Kairi shot him daggers. He raised his other arm and checked his watch. He then showed it to Kairi with nonchalance. "Besides, isn't it time for you to skedaddle?"

"Huh?" She looked at the ticking watch.

"You got a minute left, idiot." Kairi widened her eyes, calculated the distance from his classroom to hers in a split-second, and cursed before shouldering her bag and making her way out of the door.

"I gotta go! Nice meeting you, Riku!" Riku gave her a wave while Sora merely dug into his backpack to get his pencil out. In a flash, Kairi was out and away.

"She's cute," Riku remarked playfully. "Don't you think so?" Sora snorted as he started writing the date on the top corner of his notebook for today's biology lecture.

"Not really."

~.~.~

"Okay, guys, I know you're going to hate me for this," everyone in the class groaned, already having a premonition of what Mr. Leonhart was going to say, "But it's been a week of school already."

"What's that suppose to mean?" one person from the back said. Kairi noted that it was the same flame-haired guy that hung out with Sora quite often. Mr. Leonhart smiled.

"Project time." Expecting highly prestigious students to accept those words ruefully, Kairi was pleasantly surprised that most started to complain immediately; it just gave her assurance that her classmates weren't just academic robots.

Currently, she was in calculus class, and she wondered what kind of project Mr. Leonhart could pull up for _math._

"When I was in high school, I hated group projects," he reminisced fondly. "Always stuck with the lazy ass that would not do anything-oops, language. Don't tell the administration office on me." A few chuckled, along with Kairi. She smiled. She liked him already. "But I have faith in you all, since all of you are smart, _right_?"

"Not in math, but if it makes you happy, then yes," the flame-haired boy said once more.

"Aren't you funny, Axel?" Mr. Leonhart said with rolled eyes, but clicked his tongue and pointed a finger gun at him. "Nice to have you again this year though."

"Hell, yeah, I'm going to flame it up this year too. Watch out, if you ever encounter missing tests and ashes, you know who to find." Kairi tried not to laugh. _This dude's funny._

With another roll of his eyes, Mr. Leonhart took out his clipboard and started to lead his pen up and down the roll call sheet.

"Time for the fun part: seeing who carries in projects and who doesn't. It's going to be a great year, guys." Mr. Leonhart picked partners blindly as he stopped his pen randomly on the roll call. Kairi waited patiently for her turn, hoping she would miraculously get Namine, but she highly doubted it. Kairi felt that she wasn't too bad at calculus, but she wasn't extremely good either.

"Let's see here. Kairi Lockhart," Kairi clasped her hands together, "And Roxas Hikari." Her head turned towards the boy and was surprised that he did the same. Making eye contact with her, Roxas offered her a smile and a peace sign, which she returned back with a shy smile.

She never really talked to him-scratch that. She never talked to him _ever._ Astonished that he even knew who she was, she only knew him from his almost-perfect diagnostic test the whole class had to take. He even beat Namine- _Namine._

"My project is simple and might be even fun if your partner isn't your nemesis," Mr. Leonhart explained once he finished assigning everyone their partner. "Make a video about any five rules or theorems in a creative way. Because I'm nice, this'll be due in a month, which is enough time to get things done little by little, day by day. Take it as a way to interact with the class more and make new friends."

Kairi pumped a mental fist in victory. _No solving math!_

After class was over, she joined Namine in entering the pavilion for break.

"I love you and all, Namine, but we need to find new friends," Kairi joked as they sat on a bench. Namine pouted with crossed arms, but soon broke into a small smile.

"You're right, but," she looked at all the people passing by them, "It's a big world."

"Yup." It wasn't even all of the students. Since they were taking only GE classes, they never reached out upon the other departments in the campus. Kairi sighed and took out a granola bar from her bag. She offered it to Namine, but she merely shook her head and sighed.

"How's your partner?" Kairi shrugged.

"Roxas. That guy." Namine instantly made a face, which Kairi thought was funny; she was so competitive.

"In the diagnostic test, I fell behind him only by three points," she said bitterly. "Gosh, three points!" Kairi patted her on the shoulder to humor her.

"It's okay, Namine, at least you finally got competition."

"Bleh. Not like I want any. _Anyway_ ," Namine elbowed Kairi by the side suggestively, causing her to swat her away knowingly. Kairi narrowed her eyes, daring her to say what she was going to say-which she did. "How's the life of a slave?"

"Don't even," Kairi sighed, rubbing her forehead to prevent the frown that she could already feel forming just by the mention of the subject. "Little asshole has been taking advantage of it to the best of his abilities." As if on cue, her phone rang. Kairi could rip her pockets out if she wanted to as she dug for her phone. Namine frowned, irked.

"Really? 'The Devil'?" Namine looked at the caller ID with an amusement while Kairi huffed a breath before answering the cursed phone.

" _Yes?_ "

"Note taking time, Kailey." Kairi swore that if the value of her phone wasn't so humongous, she would've crushed it into micro bits and burned it to ashes. Without saying another word, she ended the call and released a yell of frustration, gaining a few concerned looks from people passing by.

"Namine, it's going to be a long battle."

~.~.~

"When you guys dive off the diving board, do you guys clench your butt for the sharp body shape or-"

"Axel, I don't think anyone wants to know anything about that," Hayner interrupted, shooting him a look. Sora snickered while Riku sighed. Currently, all four of them were stuck in Axel's dorm for the weekend with only his fanaticism for entertainment. Four fans blasted wind, one for each of them, to combat against the Twilight summer.

"I'm stuck here with three sweaty guys and horrible dorm AC," the flamehead retorted, shaking his head furiously. "I could be out there exploring or something."

"Then why don't you?" Riku questioned as he played with his phone. "You've been hanging out with us a lot lately. Any reasons why?" Axel banged the side of his head against the wall hoping something would magically happen-it didn't.

"I would, but I need to give some space, since Xion is so head over heels in lo- _anyway,_ " Axel immediately shifted gears the moment Hayner and Riku started to mouth profanities at him to cut it out.

"Are you fucking retarded?" Hayner mouthed with wide, threatening eyes. Axel grimaced. All three looked at Sora, but he either didn't hear anything, or was too busy absorbed in his notebooks to even care. He was even _smiling._

"What's gotten you so enamored, Sora?" Riku asked cautiously. Sora looked up, wondering why all three of them were looking at him as if he was some ticking bomb before laughing and showing the notebook in his hand.

"Just studying my beautiful notes. Look," he showed it to all three, resulting in disturbed looks.

"First of all, your handwriting doesn't look like that. Second of all, whoever wrote that wants to kill someone, because that's some deadly handwriting." _Whoever_ wrote them pressed extremely hard, making imprints on the back page. Sora laughed again before tossing it over to the side.

"The notebooks were freaking expensive; now they're just tattered with violent handwriting."

"The redhead?" Hayner asked curiously, reaching over grab the notebook to inspect it. He made a face when he breezed through the contents. "I would want to kill you too if I was forced to write this much with my _own_ homework to fire through." Sora shrugged.

"I mean, it's not that bad. I hope she expected it, shouldn't she?"

"I mean, not really if you're going to throw a one-week note-taking assignment the day before it's due _at ten o'clock in the evening,_ " Riku pointed out, not proud of his friend. Sora cleared his throat in guilt, and was about to refute back, only to continue getting shut down. "Don't even say anything; I _saw_ you text her at that time with an evil look."

"Yikes, I didn't know Sora had it in him to be that cruel," Axel remarked, earning a pillow thrown right in his face. "Some bad blood you're holding, dude."

"I would've been more lenient if she literally didn't write my name in horrid block letters across my white jacket with fucking permanent marker." Riku nearly choked on his own saliva when he heard this while the other two guffawed. "Gave me the shitty reasons of it 'never getting lost', and me being able to 'manage property efficiently.'"

"Sounds feisty." Riku blew a low whistle. "I kind of like it." Sora mocked a gag.

"Wait 'til you actually talk to her. She's as nice as a talking raccoon-talking raccoons don't exist." All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Sora shuddered, gaining concerned looks from his three friends. He then looked at all of them in the eye. "Did you see that? I bet she's cursing me right now at this instant."

"Ouch. She seems nice though," Axel said. "She's in my calculus class. I actually got to talk to her, since her partner is Roxa- _anyway_ ," Axel laughed uncomfortably, but by then, Sora had already zoned them out, not wanting to talk about the agitating redhead any longer.

~.~.~

"Does it snow around here?"

"Not really, but if you head up to Traverse Town, you can see some in the winter. Why?" Kairi shrugged as she tapped Roxas's _very_ high-quality camera.

"Just remembering the beach back at home. I liked it when it snowed-sand and snow." Roxas let out a hum of understanding.

"Sounds kind of deadly. Snowballs and sandballs? Snandballs?"

"You bet'cha." The two laughed at the idea of pelting people with "snandballs."

Currently, they were configuring Roxas's camera for filming. Meeting in the garden fence (since it was the middle between the boys' dorm and girls' dorm), the two were setting things up for the most spontaneous video Kairi was ever going to make. She thought Roxas was going to be strict on the video, but she thought wrong when she asked how they were going to do it.

"Yolo," was his answer.

"So we seriously don't have a plan?" Roxas nodded.

"Don't worry about it. We can literally film anything. Slap in a voiceover that's somehow related to his guidelines, and then bam! You got yourself an A. Leonhart's hella chill." Kairi gave a dubious look.

"Really now?"

"Heck, yeah. Last year, because my friend was forced to stay home in the same week the video was due as punishment after getting hammered at some party, he just filmed his mom cooking in various angles, since he had the camera and all. Added in some crappy-ass voiceover, and you get some ridiculous video about calculus and mama's cooking." Kairi doubled over the table they were sitting at in amusement while Roxas let out a laugh himself.

"So if I want to film cute dogs, can we film cute dogs?"

"You saw the dog cafe downtown, didn't you?" Kairi squealed and waved a hand up and down excitedly.

"Yes, yes!"

"We'll see."

Over at the corner of her eye, she noticed something waving when a breeze went by. Turning her head to see what it was, Kairi was perturbed when she saw yellow crime scene tapes around an area near the garden fence.

 _The dean must value that paopu fruit a lot to put tape around the area._

Catching her line of vision, Roxas looked at it in wonder too.

"Wonder who the paopu fruit culprit is." As if triggered by his words, Kairi remembered an essential detail from the first day she arrived.

 _Sora, I'm telling you, don't kick the ball into the garden fence, or else the dean's going to freaking kill you._

"Sora," she let out by mistake, but that didn't go unheard by Roxas. He raised his eyebrows in slight surprise.

"Sora?" Kairi looked over at him and realized what came out of her mouth before shaking her head.

"No, it's nothing." That didn't stop her brain from beginning to formulize _ideas_ that she could create with that vital information. She had completely forgotten about the whole paopu fruit incident, since there were no signs of progress towards finding out who the perpetrator was, even after the dean's constant threats. Some pure, unknown force must've brought her to the garden fence at that exact same moment, for she could not be any more satisfied.

 _Sora Hikari, you messed with the wrong girl._

"Do you know him?" Kairi asked as a conversation starter. Unexpectedly, Roxas seemed a bit uncomfortable before forcing a smile.

"Yeah, you can say that." Kairi tilted her head and looked keenly at his face.

"Now that I'm looking at you, you kind of look the same. Ah," she bumped her fist against her palm, "Your last names are 'Hikari' too!" Roxas scratched the back of his head awkwardly and turned away.

"Well, we're brothers, so." Kairi's eyes widened so much that she thought they would just pop right out and roll off the table onto the ground. She darted them up and down, from his shoes to the tip of his blonde hair, to confirm the fact.

"Seriously?" she exclaimed, flabbergasted. Roxas merely nodded. He was nothing like him, personality wise! _Roxas is nice while he's a total shitbag!_ Remembering the night two days before, Kairi had to refrain herself from throwing something in frustration (which was the poor camera in her hands). He wanted her to regret her decision of writing his name on his jacket just to spite him-and she did. Staying up until four a.m., Kairi was forced to write his cursed biology notes that he gave her the night before they were due.

Kairi made sure to make his notes _extra_ pretty.

"Can't call us the best of brothers, but yeah," Roxas said in a slightly sad tone which Kairi was able to pick up. "Anyways..."

~.~.~

"Kailey." Kairi pretended not to hear him as she increased her walking pace down the hallways. It was the end of class. After all the homework she had to do, lunches she had to buy, textbooks she had to carry, and all the simple stuff Sora managed to make hateful, she didn't want to deal with him afterschool.

However, he was faster with his feet than she was and appeared right in front of her with that huge smile she just wanted to rip off.

"What?" He fished through his pockets and took out his car keys, causing Kairi to pale immensely.

"My friends and I are planning to catch a grub. I do have to say, your driving skills _are_ getting better." _After driving your ass to and from school every day, it better._ Kairi had to admit: his car was sweet. Considering the fact that she had the power to do whatever she wanted with it during the mornings and afternoons, her self-restraint of taking it somewhere else was slowly deteriorating. Anymore time with it would surely lead her to such-not like she wanted more time anyway.

"So you trust me with your car?"

"Knowing that you would have to pay for it if anything happens to it, I actually do, yes." Kairi's eye twitched; he got her there.

"And why the hell am I driving you and your friends? Can't they drive?"

"Hayner's more of an idiot than you at driving," this earned him a nice kick to the shin that he successfully avoided, "Axel has road rage and Riku got too many speeding tickets." Not wanting to hear anymore excuses, Kairi sighed before snatching his keys out of his possessions and stalked off towards the parking lot with Sora

"Where to?"

"Thanks, Kailey." After all this time of mispronouncing her name-she doesn't even know if it's on purpose or not anymore-Kairi honestly didn't give a shit anymore. Once his wrist is all nice and happy, she's out.

Once in the car, she was given quick introductions by his two other friends, but her involvement with the whole rowdy group of boys ceased to exist as they fooled around amongst themselves. Mentally, she did a checklist of how much work she had to do and was relieved to realize that she wasn't wasting too much time being a taxi driver.

"Right here, right here," Sora directed as he pointed to some popular burger shack by the corner of the street she stopped at. Finding a parking space, she drove the car in and turned off the engine, happy to rid all the boys from her presence. The boys quickly exited out the car and stretched their arms over their heads. Naturally, Kairi did the same, but soon decided to retreat back in the car. However, Riku stopped her.

"Do you want to join us, Kairi?" he politely offered. Immediately, she shook her head, not wanting to feel like the stranger in the group. She looked around and pointed at a few outdoor shops that looked too good for her purse.

"I think I'll just go tour around?" She glanced at Sora for his permission. He merely shrugged.

"I don't really care." _Figures._ She saw Riku shoot him a disapproving look before sighing.

"Alright, if that's fine with you." Riku gave her one last look, as if bothered to just leave her. Kairi gave him a small assuring smile, but it was covered up immediately when a strong wind blew through. Hair entering a frenzy, Kairi yelped slightly as her eyesight got covered by the strands sticking to her face. She quickly brought her hair back to place and huffed a sigh; the windy weather never was her friend.

"Oh, there's a random strand just sticking out like an antenna over here," Riku mused, pointing a finger at his own head to indicate where. Frowning, she felt for it, but froze when he reached a hand out and fixed it for her in a second in her stead.

"Ah, thanks," she managed to stammer out. Riku chuckled.

"You really are cute." _Oh God._ Kairi coughed awkwardly while Riku gave her one last nod before following Axel and Hayner towards the burger shack. Once he was at a good distance she allowed her cheeks to prickle.

"Aren't _you_ easily charmed?" She cleared her throat in hopes of clearing the warmness in her cheeks as well, totally forgetting that Sora was still by the car grabbing his jacket from the trunk. He had watched the small interaction in both amusement and mock disgust.

"Not really," she tried. Sora rolled his eyes.

" _Pfft_ , yeah right. And I'm as blind as a starfish." _Starfish?_ He threaded his arms through the sleeves of his navy-blue windbreaker with the crest of the university's swim team logo adorned on the top-left side. Underneath it was the name "S. Hikari."

"I'm not. Stop making things up," Kairi continued with narrowed eyes, not wanting to seem weak in this area with him. "Anyways, what time do you want me to-" Kairi widened her eyes when he suddenly looped around the car and stood in front of her. In extreme cautiousness, she took a huge step back and gave him a wary look. "And what are you planni-"

"You're cute, Kairi." The moment she was able to comprehend his _random_ words, she felt her face flare up like a lit candle while Sora took a huge step back as well after leaning down towards her. He raised an eyebrow, as if challenging her to say anymore.

"What the-" she cupped the side of her face instinctively, heart racing like crazy at the suddenness of it all. He merely stuck his tongue out and turned around to catch up with his friends. Before he left, he decided to throw her in another random loop.

"Did you know starfish have eyes?"

 **Yipee! Happy New Years! As a present, here's new chapter! Been busy with HW and ughHHHhhHH i need to fix my procrastination. New year's resolution HAHA...**

 **Now I must knock out because it's too late in the dark to celebrate anymore TToTT Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, what do we have here?" Sora was busy sipping on his milkshake when a visitor came over to their table. He casted an indifferent glance at her direction and allowed his friends to do all the talking instead.

"Xion, I swore I just saw you leave like twenty minutes ago," Axel said, a little bit freaked out by the coincidence. Xion merely shrugged and smiled. She jerked a thumb towards a table, where a boy and girl sat conversing with each other over the menu.

"Cute little freshmen Pence and Olette wanted to explore, so I decided to enlighten them with Twilight burgers, something they _have_ to have." The two noticed the group's look and waved as a greeting. "Been assigned to show these tiny freshmen around campus, so here we are." Riku looked around the restaurant mockingly with squinted eyes.

"I don't think we're on campus right now, Xion," he nodded, as if to assure himself, "Yup. It might just be me, but it smells a little bit greasier than usual. Might be just me though."

"Yeah, I get it, you dweeb," Xion said, obviously annoyed at his dripping sarcasm. Naturally, she slipped into the space next to Sora, not noticing how uncomfortable she was making him. He cleared his throat before continuing to drink his milkshake, but he nearly spat it out when Axel accidentally kicked him from underneath the table. Quickly taking a napkin by Riku's side and coughing into it, Sora glared menacingly at Axel, who looked extremely guilty.

"Dude, what the hell?" Sora hissed.

"Sorry, man, wrong person." Riku put a hand over his forehead in order to hide his embarrassment; it was going to be a long meal.

"Are you just going to leave your freshmen over there?" Sora asked, turning his attention towards Xion now. "You're not really setting a good example right now." Xion rolled her eyes.

"Just shut up, Sora. Like you're the one to talk," she giggled, taking out her phone and scrolling through its contents. Then she sighed, a bit disappointingly. "I don't know, I think they're kind of scared of me."

"Who isn't?" Hayner muttered, earning a nice death glare from Xion, but she let it go.

"They're at the fetus stage right now, all nervous, scared, and frightful. Hopefully it'll shed soon, because the world is a scary place, isn't it?" She nudged Sora's side playfully, making him stiffen once more. "I remember Sora was the biggest wimp ever in high school."

"Oh, really now?" Hayner asked, suddenly interested, being the only one out of the group of friends since high school. Riku and Axel laughed, remembering the memory of the boy back in his youth. Sora merely groaned, pushing Xion away so that she wouldn't say anymore of his dark past.

"You're so annoying, go away," Sora complained, urging her to go back to her freshmen, but she stayed stationary as a boulder just to spite him.

"Scrawny little dude, he was," Xion laughed, "Super short too and skinny as a stick. Because he was such a computer geek back then, there were these constant bags underneath his eyes all the time." To emphasize her point, she put two fingers beneath her eyes and pulled down. "People always asked jokingly if he was a zombie, because boy, he was-"

"They get it, Xion, so just shut up," Sora cut in, a faint glow of embarrassment hinting at his cheeks. "Dark days remain dark for a reason."

"Sora, you're like," Hayner looked him up and down and shook his head, as if he was too lost for words. "Dude, pics or no proof."

"Oh, I got a lot of them right here," Xion cackled, opening her photo albums. Sora widened his eyes and was about to wrestle Xion to the death for her phone-for photos of him pre-college days were hell itself-when his own suddenly rang. Slipping his phone out of his pocket, he frowned slightly when he looked at the caller ID.

"Who's 'Slave'?" Xion asked, having looked at it by accident. She eyed him dubiously.

"Don't jump into conclusions, idiot. Hello?" Sora answered the phone, continuing to sip on his milkshake once more. Rustling sounded before he got an response.

"Hey, I think I'm lost." Sora frowned for the nth time-if he kept doing it, he was going to get wrinkles early.

"Excuse me? What do you mean?" A lot of background noise bustled on the other line. A huge sigh escaped her lips.

"I mean exactly what I mean," came the irritated response. Pause. "I was just walking around having my own fun, but-"

"You became stupid and didn't keep track of where you were going," Sora deadpanned, swirling his straw. He didn't notice how Xion shot Riku a look, who only shrugged in response.

"It's a long story," he mouthed. Xion raised an eyebrow, but continued listening in on their conversation. Sora checked his watch and heaved a huge sigh.

"Where are you?"

"If I knew where I was, I wouldn't be cal-"

"No shit, Sherlock. I mean _where_ are you, like what does the place you're at right now look like?" Silence ensued, and he hoped she was in the process of answering his question, but when it began to stretch unnaturally long, he started to grow impatient. "Kailey, all you have to do is move your eyes and look for any street signs or whatever notable-"

" _I get it,_ " she emphasized with Well, there _is_ this weird motel- _holy shit! Ah!"_ Sora jumped in his seat, hand outstretched away from his ear from the sudden and loud outburst. Immediately, he brought his phone back to his ear in slight panic.

"Kairi?" The line went dead. He looked at his phone in confusion and tried calling her back, only to be directed straight to her voicemail. All his friends looked at him, confused and concerned.

"Yo, what's up?" Hayner inquired. "Is something wrong?" Sora put his phone away in his pocket and swirled his straw once more, but a little bit faster while tapping his foot on the ground.

"Dunno," he stated simply, but he wished it was that simple. His mind started to think about a lot of stuff at the alarming call, mind wandering through the railroad tracks of thought.

 _What if she encountered trouble?_ Sora pondered at this; he had been hit by her before on the shoulder, and he has discovered the painful truth-literally-that she can pack a _huge_ punch. If anything ever happened to her, she could probably knock it out with a KO. Sora nodded slightly to himself for assurance as he took a sip of his milkshake. _Yup, yup-definitely._

Just when he thought he got a calm sense of mind, he started to get confused. _Why did she mention a motel?_ Why on earth would she even be near one?

 _Sip._

Maybe she was just cruising around.

 _Sip._

It was still kind of daylight.

 _Sip._

She was going to be right-alright.

 _Sip._

Motel.

 _Sip._

It was kind of shady, that area.

 _Sip._

No one was really going to lay a hand on her.

 _Sip._

... Who would pick _her_ up?

 _Sip._

She was fucking gorgeous. He would have to carve his eyes out for check-up if he didn't admit to at least _that_ -of course, only to himself, though.

"Guys, I think something's up," Sora admitted hurriedly, train of pointless thoughts broken when he drank the last bit of his milkshake.

"Wait, Sora, what?" Suddenly standing up with the worst conclusions in mind, he left his friends in the dust as he quickly exited out the burger shack. He looked at the parking lot, only to see his car still parked where it was before.

"God, this stupid girl," Sora exasperated, ruffling his hair in frustration. Looking around, he decided to do it the hard way and began to run towards the direction of the motels, hoping that she didn't wind up in some messy situation.

~.~.~

"God, I hate these blasted seagulls," Kairi muttered furiously to herself, scrubbing her pants with the napkins she robbed from an ice cream shop with such fervor that those around her looked at her oddly before they passed by. "I never got shitted on before, but I guess today was my calling." She nearly gagged in disgust when she saw the large spots of residue left on her pants, trying her best not to scream in anguish.

She was just walking down the street talking to Sora near a huge motel billboard when a swarm of cursed seagulls decided not only to land one on her, but _two_. Splat, splat, right onto her pants. Now she was just walking around with two damp yellow spots adorned on her white pants. _Great. What were the chances?_

Not only did she fail to tell Sora where she was, but her phone battery also decided to die on her, leaving her completely void of any communication. She rubbed the back of her head, conflicted with what to do. For a second, she wished she knew what his number was by memory, but then scrunched her face up in disgust.

"I wouldn't even bother in the first place anyway." She looked around, hoping there would be some guide for a popular area like this. Eyes lit up the moment she saw it, she scurried over to the huge map of the area posted on some brick wall that was specially designed for tourists.

"Aerith's Burgers, Aerith's Burgers," she muttered, scanning through the map with a finger. With the huge star saying "You are here!" guiding her, she quickly found the burger shack and blinked. Turning around, she looked down the street and recognized the blue side of the burger shack sticking out from afar.

"Wow, aren't I directionally challenged." She laughed loudly, further creeping out the people around her even more before stopping. "Time to reward myself with a burrito." With thoughts of returning to the shack replaced with the temptation of buying a burrito that smelled super good from the distance, Kairi decided Sora could wait an extra couple of minutes for their taxi driver, or else they weren't going to go anywhere.

 _Plus, don't boys take a longass time eating?_

~.~.~

"Hey! You reached the voicemail of Kairi Lo-" Sora shut his phone off, mentally cursing why the clumsy redhead had hers unreachable. When his phone suddenly rang again, he took it out, hoped it was her, and groaned when it was just Axel.

"Yes?" he said breathily, still scouring the place for her as he headed towards the shady motel area that he himself wouldn't have the guts to wander through.

"Sora, you dumbass, you left without paying."

"Really? You called me just for tha-"

"You're the one who said you were going to spot us, so now we're just sitting in the restaurant with these waiters and waitresses giving us the mean look here while you're doing a one-man hunt for Kairi in freaking populated Twilight Square," Axel huffed a huge breath, having taken none during the whole tirade. "How about getting your ass back here first, and then we'll search for her." Sora was about to argue with Axel, but shut his mouth when he realized Axel was definitely not going to take a no as an answer, he turned around and headed back towards the shack, a little bit thankful that he hadn't made it far out yet.

Just when he turned around and rushed passed this burrito place that was relatively quite near the shack, he saw a flurry of red shoot past the corner of his eye at one of the tables in front of the restaurant. He was about to let it go until his mind began to backtrack. He licked his lips, stopped, and slowly turned around to where he had just passed, already feeling disbelief building up inside him even when he didn't confirm it yet.

There she was, ready to stuff a huge burrito into her mouth leisurely without a care in the world.

"Should I buy one for Namine?" Kairi muttered to herself, knowing her sister hadn't eaten anything besides cafeteria food since their arrival. She dug into her purse, only to find flabby, loose change. _Never mind._ She casted the thought away, swearing to herself that she would get Namine something next time, before unwrapping her food. She looked at the burrito and managed a small smile.

They never really tasted good to her in the past. She didn't like beans, and she especially didn't like how messily she ate them. However, they grew on her the more she ate them with _him_. It was his favorite food.

She shook her head. _Kairi, why are you even thinking about those thoughts now?_ She caught herself from squeezing her burrito into mush before sighing.

"Happy thoughts, Kairi, happy thoughts." She brought the burrito to her mouth, dismissing any chance of unwanted memories to resurface. Right when she was about to bite into it, a sudden shadow casted itself on her, blocking the sun's warm rays. A bit surprised, she looked up to see who it was, only to nearly tip over on her chair in surprise when she realized who it was.

"What the, why are you here?" Spooked, she looked around, wondering where the rest of his friends were. For some reason, he was breathing rather heavily, though he tried to keep it even and steady. Sora narrowed his eyes at her, and she was beginning to get scared. Looking between her burrito and Sora, she slowly put her burrito back onto her plate and wrapped it back up, having enough common sense to know that it was not the right time to scarf it down.

"Motel?" was all he said. After getting in trouble with him more than she liked, Kairi absolutely hated it when he was silent because when he was silent, it just meant that he was beyond pissed. She gulped, a bit confused at what he was talking about.

"Motel?" she repeated dumbly. That was the wrong answer, for she could see his eye twitch in extreme irritation. He made the shape of a phone and put it to his ear.

"'There is this weird motel,'" he quoted her, and she formed an "o" shape with her mouth. Sheepishly, she pointed a finger at something behind him. He turned his head to see what she was pointing at and tightened his jaw.

It was a very neon-pink billboard advertising some motel with the slogan, "Come stay, or else the night will slay!"

"Motel billboard sign," she corrected him.

"What about your phon-"

"Dead." She did not understand why he looked so mad, making her feel slightly annoyed too. Then she realized he must've been impatient waiting for her-what else could he get so ugly about? "Look," she released a breath, making sure she wasn't too rude to him, "Sorry that you had to wait for me to return, but I was getting super hungry because I didn't eat this-"

"That's not the problem here." She quirked an eyebrow, perplexed as he began to show his irritation by running a hand through his hair. "What was all that screaming about?"

"Screaming? Oh," she pointed to her pants, "some birds crapped on me. Why?" She started a bit when Sora palmed his face, running a hand down it in disbelief.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She frowned at him.

"Gosh, I didn't think you would be this angry at-"

"I'm not angry! I was just worried about yo-" he stopped, catching himself before he said anything stupid. Kairi widened her eyes, blinking rapidly at his sudden outburst.

"You were worried about wha-" It took her less than a second to realize what he was about to say and cleared her throat awkwardly. Not wanting to dig such awkward thing out of him-she didn't want to hear it either-she left it at that and casted her gaze away from his. Silence ensued between them enough for Sora's phone to ring again. He slipped it out of his pocket, looked at the ID, and put it back.

"You're not going to answer that?"

"No need. It's just Axel. They want us back. Hurry up." Kairi took that as an indication to leave. Putting her food back into the plastic bag, she quickly stood up and tried to catch up with Sora, who had already left her behind.

The streets started to get packed as dusk began to replace the afternoon light. Traffic started to increase while pedestrians walked to and fro like little critters as their shoulders lightly brushed against each other with each passing step. The streetlights that lined Twilight Town and the icicle lights that hung on a edges of buildings illuminated under the darkening pink sky, brightening the whole area up as one unit.

Kairi began to realize out why Twilight Town was named the way it was-twilight was when everything became active and alive with the buzzing of energy. Nostalgically, she began to remember home, where the sunset over the sea never failed to entice her to wade through the waters and sink her feet into the warm, yet cooling, sand. The days where she walked, whether it was with her friends or family, across the beach shore during sunset were days she enjoyed the most. They were days where she could relax and let the sound of the waves wash away the worries of the day.

Hand in hand, she would walk too, but those days were gone before she could say good bye.

Too busy admiring the scenery and remembering home, Kairi began to separate farther and farther from Sora as the crowd between them pushed them away while the people swarmed in the space between them. It wasn't until someone harshly rammed their side against her that she was broke from her trance, returning back to reality. A bit flustered, she looked around for the spiky-haired boy in the crowd, heart beating faster than usual. She pushed past the people, not wanting to be led towards the wrong direction by the swarm.

She reached her hand out as she paved way. She didn't want to get lost. She didn't want to get separated.

She didn't want to be abandoned.

 _Don't leave again._

"Kairi." She felt someone grab her hand and pull her forward, making her heart leap in surprise. Ready to smack down whoever was dragging her, she felt at rest once more when she looked to see those blue eyes of his.

Blue as the sea she loved.

"Stop daydreaming," he said gruffly before leading her towards the way back to the shack, where things were less crowded and stuffy. Kairi couldn't help but notice how his grip on her hand was strong and secure, preventing her from getting separated from him for the third time. This action brought again memories, but instead of nostalgic ones, only painful ones resurfaced.

 _Kairi, why the fuck are you suddenly getting so emotional?_ The lights, the twilight, the sky-all of it together struck a too similar resemblance to the place where sunsets used to be happy.

When they were finally back at the parking lot of the burger shack, Sora immediately released his hold on her, as if he was forced to endure it the whole time. He looked at the entrance suspiciously, where all his friends stood. _Did they pay already?_ When he saw Riku emptying his wallet (literally by shaking it) and letting all the loose change he had enter the palms of Xion's hands, he caught the gist that Xion had paid for all of them.

"Seriously?" he said under his breath, feeling a bit bad. When his friends saw him, they all began to walk towards him excitedly, all happy and not hungry.

"Kailey, time to go ho-" he widened his eyes when he turned to look at her, not expecting the sight he saw at all.

"Huh?" Kairi blinked, feeling a tear run down her face. Immediately, she wiped it with the back of her sleeve, obviously not noticing how her emotions were going rampant over the twilight night. She quickly collected herself, mentally slapping herself for letting the devil see. Sora, not knowing what to do, began to grow guilty, suddenly believing that he was at fault.

 _Sora, you're such a jerk_ , Riku's words echoed in his head. Sora looked between her and his friends before he began to look through all his pockets.

 _Am I too mean?_ Sora thought in a bewilderment as he scavenged for his handkerchief with his free hand. He intended to make her life harder, but not to the point of making her _cry._ _Maybe I really am a dick, holy shit._

"What are you doing?" Kairi laughed softly, watching in amusement, especially when he had to awkwardly twist his wrist to look through the pockets opposite from his hand, as he looked through his back pockets, front pockets, and windbreaker pockets.

"Handkerchief," he simply stated. Kairi frowned slightly before a light bulb lit above her head. She looked through her own pockets and took out the one he handed to her the day she almost plummeted to her death.

"Is this yours?" He paused in his movement and looked at her outstretched hand.

"You had it?" Kairi handed it back to him.

"Yeah, with my blood all over it. Don't worry, I washed it." Sora looked between his handkerchief and her purple-tinted eyes, which were slightly red, but it was quickly fading away. Nonetheless, he handed it back to her. This time, it was her turn to dart her eyes between his handkerchief and him in confusion.

"I guess you're going to wash it again."

"Oh." Extremely embarrassed at her mini, tiny episode, Kairi awkwardly accepted his handkerchief back. He cleared his throat, feeling a bit uncomfortable as well, and signaled with his hand.

"Keys?" Instinctively, she took them out, but she didn't give them to him.

"Wait, why?"

"'Cause I'm going to drive." Kairi furrowed her eyebrows immensely. She looked at him to see if he was just kidding, but he seemed actually serious as he held his hand out for them.

" _Pfft._ You? Drive? Why am I even here, then?" Sora licked his lips.

"Hayner will drive."

"I thought Hayner was more of an idiot at driving than me."

"Axel then."

"I thought he had road rage?"

"Riku can-"

"Didn't he get his license suspended?" For the first time ever, she watched as Sora grew flustered. Then the thought came to her about his friends-they probably drove, regardless of whatever reason Sora was spouting at her. Before the both of them could say anything, his friends had already arrived as they swung their arms around him.

"Sora, you little," Hayner brought his head down to rub his hair messily. "Dashed right out that door like a-"

"Hayner, do me a favor and shut the hell up," Sora hissed. Saving himself the trouble from all his friends' ridiculous teasing-he would have to eventually-he went over to the car. To make him not appear so lame, Kairi unlocked the door right before he opened it. He slipped inside, closing the door with a loud slam.

"What's gotten _him_ all moody?" Riku muttered as he followed suit. Kairi rolled her eyes. _You tell me._

During their drive back-with Sora looking out the window the whole time-it was then when she realized that the little mishap he had earlier was just him trying to be unnaturally nice to her. She giggled softly, earning a curious look from him before he turned back towards his window again.

 _How strange._

 **Hey guys! Update ToT**

 **When I was writing this chapter, I was like "hm, what should I write." I have kind of the whole basic (MOST BASIC) plot down, but the rest is just on-the-spot writing so it's pretty bad BUT I HAVE FUN DOING IT ANYWAY SO NO REGRETS ;) I'm not a mastermind guys, don't expect any plot twists or unexpected aosidjlfwilk because I'm bad at those HAHAHA.**

 **For the whole story, I've been kind of embedding hints about Kairi, so hopefully the shift near the end wasn't too abrupt (who am I kidding it probably was but haAAAaaA yoLo)**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed reading this one! (i didn't enjoy writing this because I had such a hard time) so hopefully it's cool ToT**

 **Reviews/Criticism is appreciated! (I have no idea how the feel is for you guys! Tell meEeEE!)**

 **oh and i forgot to say i do a lot of typos and (this is very bad) i make my own words up sometimes thinking they exist when they don't, so i'm sorry!1!**


	6. Chapter 6

_"C'mon, you're falling behind." Kairi stood in the middle of blackness, anxiety and fear filling her to the very core. Everywhere she looked, she could not find the person whose voice kept echoing around her-only pure blackness. "C'mon, Kai', I'm over here."_

 _When she tried to speak, she felt her voice restricted. Opening her mouth, she tried to force any sound to come out, only to hear nothing. Blindly, she ran, desperate for anything but the darkness. Stretching her hand out, she grasped the empty air, following the voice that kept beckoning her. However, when she thought she was getting closer, the voice sounded more and more distant with no signs of ever coming closer._

 _"Kairi, don't get lost," he chuckled. She tried so hard to speak, wanting to say with all her heart, "I won't get lost if you just wait for me," but such power she failed to obtain._

 _In an endless abyss, Kairi thought she would just keep running and running forever. Tired and exhausted, she could feel herself fade away-what else could keep her up?_

 _"Stop daydreaming." Gently, she felt a hand grasp hers, and the blackness swept away to reveal bright blue._

"Kairi, I'm sure you're not supposed to be sleeping in." Kairi let out a groan as she felt hands shake her awake gently. Never being a morning person, Kairi refused to get up.

"Five minutes, not lying," she grumbled, pulling the blankets over her head. Xion, already washed up and dressed for class, had her hands on her hips as she stared at the Kairi burrito wrapped in a blanket. She checked the clock that was hung on the wall and sighed.

"Kairi, class is about to start in legit ten minutes. I don't want to sound like a stalker or anything, but I think rotation starts with sixth period today. Isn't that Sephiroth for you?" Just the mention of the silver-haired demon was enough to make Kairi shoot her eyes wide open, fling her blankets to floor, and climb off her bed in a frenzy towards the bathroom, nearly tripping on her bag that was thrown carelessly on the floor from last night. Xion blessed Kairi's soul with the sign of the cross before saying good bye and going off to her own class.

When Kairi looked _presentable_ -her hair was a frizzy mess after forgetting to brush her hair after her last night shower-she blasted out her dorm and climbed down the stairs. With lightning speed, she full-out sprinted towards the gym with two minutes left on the clock.

When the double doors came into plain sight, she felt relieved-she was going to make it. Just one more step and a push and she would-"

 _Ring!_

 _God fucking damn it._

Heart already dropped in the darkest pits of misery with no return, she closed her eyes and braced herself to open the doors. Sephiroth not only liked to break people's physique, but he also found a dark hobby of breaking people's mentality too with his harsh-and highly unneeded-commentary.

"Here we go." With a strong-willed push, she opened the door with a large creak and stepped inside. The moment she did, she could already feel chills run through her body as she felt the icy glare she grew to love on her.

"Ms. Lockhart, what a pleasant surprise."

"Good morning, sir," Kairi forced out, quickly making her way over to the bleaches. However, he stopped her with a hand and pointed to the other side of the gym. Curiously, she looked over to see what was going on and felt herself pale in dread. _Oh no, oh no, oh no._

"You can join Mr. Hikari over there," Sephiroth said with a sadistic smile. "He just came late too, so you won't be lonely." Kairi gulped as she watched Roxas strain himself to sit up against the wall. When he noticed his fellow late classmate, he gave a happy wave in greeting, but had to keep it back to his side to keep his shaky balance stable again.

Wall sits-her worst enemy.

"I like ninety angles," Sephiroth reminded, indicating towards his own knees with his metal stick. "You're done when I say you're done." Kairi slowly let down her backpack on one of the bleachers and forced her feet to walk over to where Roxas was, who was obviously in pain. Positioning herself next to him, she slowly crouched down, hoping that it would stall some time-but she highly doubted that.

"Hey, Kairi," he greeted. "Nice way to start the morning, isn't it?" Kairi released a deep breath as she bent her knees and fully entered her wall-sit position. Of course, it didn't feel bad at all, but it would be a completely different story the next minute.

"It's absolutely terrific," she replied, tone drenched with sarcasm. She glanced over at Roxas, whose knees were already visibly shaking. "Dude, we just started this. Are you going to be alright?" Roxas laughed nervously, a bit embarrassed about his endurance.

"I have the scrawny legs of a chicken. Don't expect anything." When Sephiroth wasn't looking, Roxas pushed himself up a little bit. However, Sephiroth had some sort of radar, for the moment Roxas broke his ninety-degree position, his head whipped towards their direction. Roxas quickly returned to his original form, clearly startled by Sephiroth's invisible eyes attached to the back of his head. He gave the two of them warning look.

"Fuck, do you think he saw me?" Roxas cursed, trying not to move his lips too much; Sephiroth's eyes were as keen as an eagle.

"I have to admit. You're not slick at all." Roxas feigned a hurt look before chuckling, but the cheeriness of it quickly evolved into pain as he clenched his fists and tried not to collapse right then and there. Kairi too could feel the stretch of her muscles the longer she stayed upright.

"Let's sing," Roxas blurted out. Kairi wondered if Roxas was beginning to grow delirious.

"Are you o-"

"No, I'm serious. I'm in so much pain. Oh, God." Again, he attempted to push himself up the wall to ease the tension, but just one movement of Sephiroth while he directed the class on today's schedule and exercise freaked him out. "I'm on the cross country team, and wall sits are every day punishments. We just sing the pain away."

And so, Kairi found herself singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" with Roxas, who did harmonic tweaks and sung the original Mozart interludes as well, earning a lot of silent laughter from Kairi (laughter was Sephiroth's enemy). She didn't care that a few of their classmates were looking at her strangely; it actually helped take her mind off the pain a little bit.

However, she swore Sephiroth was making them stand longer.

"I can't, I can't, I can't," Roxas chanted. It was the most Kairi ever heard him talk to her too, since he was usually the quiet around her. "Holy goodness, Kairi, I think I'm ha-shit, shit, I'm having a muscle cramp." Kairi gaped at him.

"Good lord, right now?" Roxas shook his head furiously.

"I'm out. I'm freaking out."

"Wait, he's going to-"

"I'll take one for the team. You owe me." Kairi winced when he stood straight up and off the wall, legs all wobbly and jelly-like. Immediately, Sephiroth turned around and threw daggers with his eyes at Roxas, who was currently did not give a single crap and was just trying to stretch his muscle cramp away.

"Roxas Hikari," his deep voice boomed. Kairi pursed her lips. "Kairi, you're done." She gratefully got off to her feet, but she shared a dreadful look with Roxas.

"It's been nice knowing you." She held her palm facing upward, which he sullenly high-fived.

"See you in the afterlife."

When Kairi finished changing, she headed out towards the field. She wished for Roxas's well being when she saw him in the corner of the field also changed, but doing planks now. Though it was still painful over a long period time, he seemed to like the planks better than wall-sits. Sephiroth-thank the gods-was talking with a few of the other teachers about some sort of arrangement. The death experience had yet to begin.

"Wakka, you little piece of-not the hand, not the damn hand!" Out of nowhere, she felt a force push her roughly from the side. She didn't tip over-and she was sure something like that wouldn't be able to either-but a hand still shot out anyway to grab her by arm in order to steady her.

"Oops, sorry," Wakka said sheepishly. Sora, who had backed away from the boy only to bump into Kairi, glared at him. He had been trying to "examine" his injury, but Sora didn't need a brain to know that he was just planning to fool around. Kairi had to swallow down the uncomfortable lump she felt when she saw him as she remembered yesterday's incident. After the whole thing, she felt a bit _odd_ seeing him again.

"Stay away from me, you idiot," Sora warned. "I don't feel safe around you and your hyper self when I'm handicapped." Wakku mockingly saluted him before skipping away to his friends, deathly afraid of Sora when he was pissed. Letting her go after realizing he still had a hold on her, Sora retracted his arm back to his side. Kairi raised an eyebrow.

"Your friend sure likes horseplay."

"And you don't?" Kairi narrowed her eyes and was about to sock another one on the side of his arm, but Sora, who knew a lot better now, predicted where it was going to be and caught her fist. "Not this time, Kail-fuck you." With her other free hand, she gave him a nice stab to the stomach with a finger. He instantly backed away from her as if she was the black plague and gave her the mean eye.

"Shoo, I don't like your presence anyway," Kairi said dismissingly with a wave of her hand. "Go before I sweep you away like a critter."

"Wait before I crush you like a bug. I'll make sure to make it a crunchy death." Kairi shuddered, immediately feeling disgusted.

"You're gross."

"Might want to fix that hair of yours then," he laughed, offering a finger at it before he went away to go to his other friends. Defensively, she clasped her head with both her hands, completely forgetting about her morning bed head. Groaning, she tried to flatten it with no avail as she watched his figure shrink away. She was very surprised when some girl suddenly attacked his side in some sideways hug, who Kairi recognized as Namine's eccentric roommate, Selphie.

 _I thought he hated the female species_ , Kairi thought as he awkwardly petted her on the head, since he always hung around his super hyper boy group. She blinked before shrugging and turning away.

 _None of my business._

Other than Sephiroth's hell class-which wasn't too bad since he was occupied with something with the other teachers-Kairi's day passed super fast. Roxas and her made plans to actually visit the dog cafe sometime on Saturday, which she mentioned to Namine.

"Oh my God, can I go too?" Namine squealed as they walked back towards Namine's dorm. Kairi had yet to go inside her dorm, despite Namine always visiting hers. "You know I love dogs. And cats too! Oh, birds are the cutest, especially when-" Kairi began to zone her sister out once more, since she was such a blabbermouth sometimes when she got excited. Nearing Namine's dorm, Kairi finally answered her after she stopped.

"Namine, it's for our project," Kairi mused, watching as Namine entered the code in for the door. "Plus, don't you dislike that guy?"

"Kairi, you know I won't get silly over three points." _Yeah, right, Grudge-holder._ "I swear I won't bother you guys. I'll just be in the corner while you do whatever you guys plan to do. Pretty please, please."

"I'll ask Roxas tonight, then. Just because I'm cool with it doesn't mean he would be."

"What's his number? I'll bribe him." The sisters laughed as they entered the dorm. However, they barely took one step in before they were stopped by a sudden and loud yell.

"Wait, wait, wait, don't step over here!" Kairi nearly bulged her eyes out when she saw the mess all over the floor. Boxes and boxes of what she presumed to be clothes were scattered everywhere along with its contents. Selphie, who was in the middle of the whole chaos, was sorting everything out in piles in an attempt to be neat and organized, but it clearly was not working.

"Selphie, what is all this?" Namine asked surprised, looking all over the floor space-or, rather, lack of. The brunette smiled brightly.

"All my packages came in today!" Kairi widened her eyes. _All this?_ "I went on a crazy online shopping spree, like, last week. When my daddy loads up my card, I go crazy!" Namine mentioned before that her roommate was extremely nice and sociable, but a little bit _odd._ Having only seen her during PE and never really talked to her before, Kairi was beginning to see what her sister meant. "Sorry, I'll try to clean up as quick as possible."

"No, no, it's okay," Namine assured. "Take your time, I don't really mind. I hope _you_ don't mind that my sister's visiting." For the first time, Selphie directed her gaze towards Kairi and offered a huge smile. She stood up and stepped over all her clothes towards Kairi to greet her, but not without nearly tripping on her stuff.

"Hey, you're that super, athletic redhead in my PE class!" Selphie exclaimed as she cupped Kairi's face with both her hands. Kairi, not expecting the sudden invasion of personal space, stumbled back a bit, but allowed the odd girl to feel her face. "Gosh, I knew you had good skin the moment I saw you!"

"Uh, thanks," Kairi managed, noticing how big and sparkly Selphie's eyes were. Noticing her discomfort, Selphie quickly unhanded her and giggled.

"Sorry about that," she apologized. She looked between Namine and Kairi with curious eyes. "I never suspected you guys were sisters, but now that I'm looking at you two, I see the similarities-yes, I do!" Kairi sent a silent message towards Namine with her eyes. _She's hyper._ Namine merely smiled before nodding.

"We get that a lot."

Going over to Namine's bed without stepping on Selphie's stuff with much difficulty, the two clambered on it. Kairi looked in amazement at the decorations Namine put up, especially the canvases that she painted.

"My roommate is so talented!" Selphie gushed as she watched Kairi look around their dorm. "They look nice, don't they? I told her to decorate the whole freaking room if she wanted to go crazy over it, but she respects my space too much."

"Thanks, Selphie," Namine said bashfully. "But it's your room too!" Selphie dramatically stabbed an imaginary knife to her heart, catching Kairi off guard once more. _Quirky._

"Kairi, she's such a sweet, sweet angel, I swear." Kairi swore Selphie was such a mom. "How's Twilight University for y'ah?"

"Great!"

"Depressing." Selphie rose an eyebrow at Kairi, whose response wasn't one she wanted to hear. Selphie stopped folding her clothes and scrambled on her knees over to the edge of the bed. Grabbing Kairi's hands, she looked at her worriedly. Kairi tried not to laugh; this girl was hilariously weird.

"What's wrong, my child? Does it not suit your taste?" Namine shook her head in amusement.

"N'aw, she's just being bullied right now." Selphie let out an exaggerated gasp before clutching her chest with one hand. Her hair bobbed as she shook her head.

"Who is the demon? Oh my God, is it your roommate Xion? Namine told me she was your roommate. I'll kill that bitch I swear."

 _What the fuck?_

Kairi widened her eyes so big that they burned. Selphie did a one-eighty mood switch, which freaked the hell out of Kairi as she watched her eyes turn dark.

" _What?_ " Kairi managed to blurt out, completely flabbergasted. Selphie let go of her hand, clicking her tongue disapprovingly in the stood up and flipped her hair over her shoulders as she went back towards her place in the center of the room.

"I hate that bitch. I'm so sorry you have to sleep in the same shitty room as her. Must be miserable." Kairi looked over at Namine for some answers, who looked just as surprised as her. Quickly, Namine typed something on her phone and gave it to Kairi to read.

 _When I mentioned Xion last time, she seemed fine, so I have no idea._

"Um, I don't know what you're talking about," Kairi said carefully, "But it's not her."

"Doesn't change the fact that she's a bitch." Selphie seemed to realize what she was saying and quickly changed back to her bubbly self, which disturbed Kairi even more. "Oops, sorry about that." She then heaved a huge sigh as she continued to fold her clothes. "Still, she spells bad news. Don't even try to get along with her."

"Do you mind me asking why?" Selphie rolled her eyes.

"Bitch broke one of my best friend's heart. Led him on too. I will never forgive that snotty-nosed brat, so if you're ever with me and we see them, please hold me back from murder."

"Oh." Kairi, deep inside, doubted her words. Xion didn't seem to be that type of person at all. _Is Selphie okay?_ Selphie, noticing Kairi's unintentional look of doubt, sighed and waved a hand.

"Enough about that witch. Who exactly is your bully? If I know the person, I'll teach him or her a lesson or two, just for you." Selphie winked. Kairi smiled, but made a mental note not to piss this girl off, because she was _feisty._

"It's just some guy."

The tension that Selphie caused with the whole Xion issue was enough to get Kairi to retreat back to her room after a few minutes despite wanting to talk to her sister more.

"Maybe another time," she mouthed to Namine, who gave an apologetic nod. She said her goodbyes to Selphie, who expectedly gave her a bubbly farewell a well. Escaping the room, Kairi let out a heavy breath she didn't know she was holding, stood in front of the door for a second to collect her thoughts, and smoothed out her head in confusion.

"N'aw, Xion's kind of too weird to do that."

Feeling a bit hungry, Kairi decided to go buy some food from the food shops near the school's courtyard. With it being a Friday, many went out, making the school seem desolate. Only a few people roamed at this time.

"If only I had a car," Kairi muttered to herself as she felt her pockets for her money. "Oh, the freedom I would have." Since her skateboard was still laying destroyed in the closet of her dorm somewhere, her means of somewhat quick transportation was nonexistent. _I should've hit Riku up with that place he offered._

~.~.~

Kairi fluffed her pillows up, sleep threatening to overcome her right on the spot. The day was surprisingly chill without Sora's annoying presence. For some strange reason, he had not called her to do any of his biddings at all today, and the only interaction they had with each other was the small encounter at PE in the morning. Even when they passed by each other for the next period, he only offered her a glance before continuing to walk with his friends as if she wasn't there in the first place. She felt stupid too, considering the fact that she had even took a step towards him, opened her mouth, and physically _looked_ stupid doing so too as he flat out passed by her.

"Ignoring me now, huh? Good!" She gave her pillow a nice punch before laying her head on it. "Bipolar weirdo." He didn't even call her up to drive him back to his apartment either! "Maybe my job as his stupid slave is over." Though she should be throwing a celebratory party for this wonderful day, she couldn't help but feel strange at this newfound freedom.

With the AC of the dorms malfunctioning for both the boy's and the girl's dorms, the heat was nearly unbearable, making her grouch level shoot up. She kicked her blankets off onto the floor, grabbed her phone from the small desk, and turned off the lamp by the side, calling it a day. Rolling onto her side for a comfortable situation, she switched her phone on and checked her SNS, erasing every thought about Sora.

"God, this place's wifi sucks," she muttered as she waited for it to update.

When she thought her mood wouldn't get worse, it did. When it finally updated, it took all she could from chucking her phone against the wall in anger.

Right in front of her face was a picture of the people she never wanted to see ever again at Destiny Islands. They were both at some sort of rave with all the lights and super-revealing clothes. Arms around each other, one smiled widely while the other smirked arrogantly. At the top, the caption said:

 _Love you babe ;)_

Kairi wiped her eyes by the back of her arm, frustrated not only at the picture, but frustrated at herself for failing to forget everything that wronged her. She looked at the picture again, but instead of the bad memories that he had inflicted on her, she could only remember the happy ones, which was worse.

"Fuck." Unable to take this suffocation any longer, she carelessly dropped her phone onto the ground and got out of her bed, determined to get some fresh air out of the dormitory. When she opened the door, she didn't bother apologizing to Xion, who was surprised to see her burst out the door.

"Kairi? Where are you-it's really late right now!"

"I'll be back," was all she said before tumbling down the stairs and out of sight. Xion looked after her worriedly as she had one foot holding the door while her head looked down the hall where Kairi disappeared to. Going inside, she sighed when she saw the signs of Kairi's frustration with the crooked pillows, wrinkled bed sheets, and piled blankets on the floor. She set her bag down and went over to tidy things up, only to step on something.

"Her phone too, huh?" She picked it up and nearly dropped it again when it started to vibrate. However, the caller ID she saw was the last name she expected to see in Kairi's phone. She stared at it blankly until it stopped ringing. Right after, a text came.

 _Sorry, I just got your text right now! Ofc your sis can come, nothing's stopping her! do you need a ride though to the dog cafe? #calcprojectissomathy :)_

~.~.~

"Stupid Riku and his stupid, damn parties," Sora ranted to himself as he twirled his keys around his finger. He unbuttoned the first button of his collared shirt and loosened his tie, wondering why in the world he had to look all fancy for some party that wasn't going to be at all fancy late in the night. He was tired of girls clawing at him and boys trying to be all buddy-buddy with him when they're not, but since Riku was his _dear_ best friend, he couldn't flake out on him. "Stupid."

 _And let's hope I don't die on the road,_ he thought as he felt his wrist. The pain got significantly less, but that didn't mean it was completely healed-one more fuck-up would screw his wrist back to square one.

Going past the courtyard and towards the courtyard, his heart leaped out of his ribcage when he saw some shadow pass behind one of the pillars that curved towards his direction. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and blinked again. He never wanted to admit it to any of his friends, but he was deathly afraid of moving objects he could not identify, especially in the dark.

 _Time to get the fuck out of here._

Picking up his pace, he stopped jingling his keys and made his strides bigger, eager to get the hell out of the dark courtyard. Just when he thought he was strong in his resolve, a single sound of a sniff made him stop on his tracks. Following that was a harsh crash as someone kicked the fence of the courtyard with as much force as they could muster.

"Ow," the voice sobbed, instantly regretting her decision. Sora, not wanting to get into any trouble near that place-since the hideous and now-dead paopu fruit resided there-quickly cut through the grass, despite getting his shoes wet in the process. However, once again, he stopped when he recognized the voice of the sobbing figure.

Kairi cursed at everything that got in her way, including the stone rocks on the pavements, the crickets that were annoying her ears, and the fence that refused to be destroyed by her flimsy kick. She should've expected it-she really should've-but confirmation of it all was the worst thing of all that she believed would never come.

"Ugh!" She didn't give a damn about anyone hearing her (though she doubted a lot of people were even here on campus anymore). If she had the power to amplify her voice, she would direct it towards Destiny Islands and scream until her-"

"Kairi?" Fear rose up her chest when she felt an unknown hand on her shoulder. Without a single thought, and for her safety, she swiftly grabbed the hand and was about to flip the unknown person onto the ground and beat the crap out of him if it wasn't for the other arm that wrapped itself around her to prevent such a thing from happening. "Holy mother of moogles, I knew you were going to throw some judo shit at me." Recognizing the voice, she immediately let him go and turned around in astonishment. She squinted her eyes slightly under the moonlight, but she didn't have to, since the shape of his hair in the dark was enough.

"Sora?" Sora took a step back and prayed thanks to every god that existed that the hand she grabbed wasn't his injured one, or else it was going to get toasted.

"Why exactly are you-" he stopped when he noticed her tear-ridden eyes, but the thing that really made him turn away and look somewhere else was her outfit. Clad only in a pair of short shorts and a camisole, Kairi didn't understand what his problem was until he made it more obvious and covered his eyes with a hand. Immediately, she crossed her arms over her bosom and blushed furiously red.

 _Are you an idiot, Kairi?_

Sora shrugged off his gray zip-up hoodie and threw it over her head. She received it with a noise of complaint as she pulled it off her head and glared at him, but she slipped her arms through it anyway. Instantly, his scent wafted underneath her nose, and she had to grudgingly admit that it was a nice one too.

"Thanks," she sniffed, rubbing her eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. Sora found himself once again in a difficult situation as he watched her wipe her tears away, knowing that it was _definitely_ not his fault this time.

"You should return back to your room or else people will start talking about a ghost haunting the courtyard the next morning," he joked. "A redheaded ghost."

"Just shut up." _At least her ferociousness didn't die down._ She let out another sniff before she looked him up and down. She frowned, wondering why he was dressed so nicely in the middle of the night. Before she could say anything, he answered her mind.

"Party."

"Oh." Sora looked to the right, and then to the left. Kairi looked at her feet instead.

 _This is so awkward_ , both of them thought. Sora would've liked to say something to make her feel better but...

They weren't really friends.

"What's gotten you down? Did someone break your heart just now?" he said teasingly, hoping that saying a stereotypic thing would somehow make the mood lighter, but he realized that was the second hugest mistake he made that night. In less than a split second, her mood became darker as her expression turned blank.

 _Fuck me in the ass right now._ Sora took a step back and actually thought about just leaving her to herself and resume going towards the parking lot, but he rethought about it and again realized that that was a dick move.

"Where are you heading?"

"Huh?" he let out stupidly. She looked at him straight in the eye, and instead of pure sadness, there was a fire of rage in them.

"Are you deaf?" she snapped. Normally, Sora would've snapped right back, but he decided against it. "Where are you going?"

"This party Riku invited me too," he answered.

"Is it big?"

"Probably."

"Wild?"

"Definitely."

"A lot of people?"

"I barely know anyone." Then an idea popped up, but before he could suggest it, she took the words out of his mouth.

"Can I come uninvited?" He smirked.

"Don't make me babysit you." It couldn't be that bad right?

"Let me grab my phone and stuff."

This decision was his hugest mistake of the night.

~.~.~

"Sora, where the hell are you, dude?" Sora pressed his phone as close to his ear as possible in order to hear while the music boomed loudly, shaking up his whole entire body. He could barely catch any of Riku's words on the other line. It also didn't help that people were right next to him screaming their lungs out with dangerously swishing drinks in their hand.

"At the party, where do you think I am?" Sora shouted into the phone.

"Then how come I don't see you?" Sora grimaced as he turned a wary eye towards something that was preventing him from joining with Riku and the rest of his friends.

"I'm fucking babysitting right now."

" _What?_ " Before he could explain what was going on to Riku, the sight of Kairi chugging down a glass of very suspicious liquid got him ending the call and squeezing between the crowd to reach her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you doing?" he spoke loudly over the music as he grabbed her by the wrist. She looked at him and giggled, which was an extremely bad sign. It got even worse when she started to play with one of the spikes of his hair, much to his horror.

The moment she stepped into the huge mansion of some unknown girl Sora didn't know, she began to get wild and charge herself into the crowd to mix in with the chaos. It was okay that she was just dancing erratically with Sora being forced to make sure nothing happened to her-or else he was going to feel restlessly guilty for the entirety of his life if something ever happened-but the moment he took his eyes off of her to answer Riku's call for one second, she was already doing something stupid. If he knew she would be acting like this, he wouldn't have taken her in the first place.

"Silly, I'm just having fun," she laughed with glazed eyes. He looked at the glass in her hand and took it, sipping it a little bit before cringing; it was spiked. His eyes scanned for the person who gave it to her, and when he saw the perpetrator eyeing her obscenely, he flipped him the finger before taking her away.

"God damn it, Kailey, you like to give me a shitload of trouble, don't you?" he complained. He looked around, honestly not knowing where to dump her so that she could calm down, for everywhere he looked, there was just crazy dancing, inappropriate grinding, and ignorant couples who were just sucking each other's faces off.

"This is fun!" she screamed right into his ear as she pulled him down by his tie. "I never knew a party would be this cool!" Sora swatted her hand away and tried not to blast at her, but she was really, _really_ testing his patience.

"You sound like you've never been to a party before!"

"It's 'cause I haven't!" Sora widened his eyes and turned to give her the most incredulous look he could muster. She only smiled at him, which only creeped him out more.

"Excuse me?" She nodded her head, but she began to feel her head spin the longer she did it. Giggling like an idiot, she stumbled with her feet, but quickly regained herself. The alcohol was clearly getting into her system.

"I haven't! This is my first time!"

Now Sora _really_ regretted his choice of bringing her.

"Please, get your shit together." Kairi nodded once again obediently, but he knew that nothing he said was really processing her mind-she was already hammered.

"Sora?" Sora never felt so glad to see his friends at a party before as they approached him. Based on the looks on their faces, they weren't too smashed either-Axel was actually sober and not naked for once.

"What's going on he-Kairi?" Riku frowned as he watched the tipsy girl try to define where her feet were as she wobbled. Using Sora's arm to find balance, she noticed Sora's friends and grinned at them.

"Hey, guys! Wow, it's really hot right now," she slurred. When she stumbled forward, Sora's jacket slipped off of one of her shoulders while her cleavage was shown more vividly as she bent down. Sora narrowed his eyes at his friends, who were bluntly ogling her, before making her stand upright and zipping up the jacket.

"Get it together," he said slowly to her through clenched teeth. She only nodded.

"I'm not even going to ask questions right now," Riku commented as he watched Kairi worriedly. "I think you should get her out of here."

"I think I should too." Sora had no problem with that either-he wanted to get out of this crazed party as fast as he could, and she was his ticket for the way out. At least she was useful for _something._

It was difficult for Sora to drag Kairi out the mansion towards where his car was parked along the street, for she kept refusing to budge, claiming that he was always, "ruining it for her," but he could care less. He could already hear his friends questioning him in the future as they helped him haul her into her car without using too much brute force-not like he was going to answer them anyway.

"I would say that you would be missing out on a lot of fun, but I doubt you would enjoy anything in the first place," Riku said in amusement as Sora glared at the drunk redhead in the car. Axel and Hayner had already escaped back into the party, leaving only Riku to actually be a real mate and see him off. "Sorry for always dragging you, dude."

"If you were really sorry, you wouldn't be forcing me every time," Sora shot back. Riku simply rolled his eyes and smiled. He then peeked through the window of Sora's car before jerking a thumb at it.

"Is she alright?"

"Probably not."

"Didn't expect you to bring someone."

"Ha, I wasn't expecting myself to either." Sora heaved a huge sigh before taking out his keys. "This is what happens when I try to be nice to a troublesome person." Riku chuckled.

"That's how you meet people like me."

"You're right," Sora quipped with a small smile before giving Riku a fist-bump. He signaled towards the mansion, whose lights were now off only to be replaced with laser lights, with his eyes. "Now go back in there and do what you do best: hooking up with girls. I wouldn't want to waste your time, young fellow." Riku clicked his tongue.

"Whatever."

When Riku was gone, Sora circled around his car and entered it. He gave himself a minute to settle from all the madness before he inserted the key.

"Where are we going?" Kairi groaned, twiddling her fingers. She squinted her eyes at them before an idiotic smile plastered on her face. Her attention span was very short, for she began to play with the sleeves of his jackets which were obviously too long for her.

"Home," Sora deadpanned as he turned on the engine and cruised down the street. In protest, she began to whine, and Sora tried not to be tempted with the duct tape that was in the trunk.

"I want to go to the party!"

"You _fortunately_ do not belong in that world." He sighed when he remembered the ridiculous dancing he witnessed, giving him no doubt that it was, indeed, her first party. "Give up on that hope."

"It's fun, though. I like them!" With a prayer to his right hand, he reached over, collected both her hands to her lap, and held them down together because she was beginning to mess with his Wayfinder charms hanging from his rearview window. "I feel a little bit weird though."

"That's because you were drinking something you were not supposed to." Sora felt like he was talking to an uneducated child as he finally exited out the neighborhood and entered the main street. With the city always looking like it's in a holiday season with all of its bright lights and busy, nocturnal people, Kairi stared out the window in amazement.

"It's pretty," she giggled. "Twilight Town is a pretty place. Pretty lights." Sora tried not to laugh at how silly she sounded.

"Where are you from? You don't sound like you're from here."

"Oh. Destiny Islands. Somewhere in the middle of the ocean." Her hands escaped his hold and began to find its way around the handle of the car's compartment. Curious, she opened it and took out its contents.

"Stop," Sora urged, blindly swatting her hands away when they reached a red light. She responded back by slapping his own away, causing a sharp pain to travel up his arm. He immediately retracted his hand away from hers, not wanting his wrist to get messed up when it was almost done with the healing process. "Can't you stay still? You're such a bad drunk."

"I hate Destiny Islands. But I miss it at the same time," Kairi continued on with the conversation earlier. She stopped fumbling with his stuff and shut the compartment closed with a harsh slam, although papers were still on the ground. Sora did not understand what she meant by that, but continued to listen to her drunk rant anyway. "I hate the things I'm not supposed to hate, but miss the things I'm not supposed to miss."

"I see," Sora automatically responded just for a response. However, he thought he had done something wrong once more, for Kairi's mood did another convoluted switch, and she began to sob.

"I hate parties!" Sora cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I thought you said you like them." She shook her head in a messy manner, almost ramming her head on the side window. When she stopped, her hair was all over the place.

"I hate them. They are evil." _Alright, then._ "I never wanted to go to a party in my life, but since he always liked them, I wanted to see what's so good about them tonight, but there's nothing!"

"He?" Sora frowned-who was she talking about? She didn't answer him, but just continued to say whatever was on her mind.

"Stupid asshole," she screamed. She then looked at Sora, who couldn't return her look back unless he wanted to die on the streets. "Never get involved with playboys, Sora. They're no good. They'll trick you and sweet talk you."

"I wouldn't in the first place, since I'm straight, but I'll take your advice." She nodded approvingly before residing back into her seat and looking out again through the window, all the while continuing to cry.

"Stupid jerk broke my heart into a gazillion pieces strewn all over the universe just for some dumb hot girl," she bawled, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, but to no avail. "Do guys just like hot girls? Do you like hot girls, Sora?"

"Can you somehow sneak into your dorm through locked gates?" he blankly stated as he did a left turn, completely ignoring her questions. "If you can't, then you gotta crash at my apartment, and I really don't want you to because I don't want-"

"I should blast at him on this stupid Facebook photo of him and his now-bitch girlfriend," she cackled darkly as she took out her phone and began to type stuff on it. Sora didn't have to think twice about taking her phone out of her hands, knowing from past experience that being drunk while handling social media was the worst combination _ever._

"I don't think you should do that," he said warningly, already having a vague idea of what she was crying about. "That's a big no-no. You'll want to dig yourself a hole to live in the next morning."

"That's not true," she stretched, reaching towards her phone. "You're lying."

"Idiot, I'm driv- _don't touch me."_

The rest of the ride back to his apartment continued with Kairi's whining and Sora's irritation clashing like fire and ice. He had tried dumping her back into the girl's dormitory, but there were many problems to this. One, the gates were closed. Two, she was too intoxicated for basic human functions (Sora wondered how much she was able to drink when he had his eyes off her). And finally, she refused to unlock her phone so that he could call one of her friends or something to open the gate from the other side because he had "done her wrong too."

"Get out," he ordered as he took his keys and exited out the car. He went over to her side and opened the door. Kairi was merely twirling her hair in her fingers and looked amazed as if such a phenomenon was out of this world. He sighed and unbuckled her seatbelt before dragging her out with one hand.

"I like your car," she said in a slurred tone. "I wish I could have a car."

"That's great. Now get out."

"No!" Sora took a step back when she started to thrash around.

"Don't lose your temper, Sora, don't lose your damn fucking temper," he muttered to himself as he managed to take her out of the car and lock it. He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the elevator. Thankfully, she managed to keep up with him, though not without a lot of stumbling.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked wearily, rubbing her eyes in discomfort when she encountered the bright lights of the elevator. When she noticed the exterior of the building, she let out a dramatic gasp and shook her head wildly. "I cannot go into your apartment! I am a pure maiden who do not participate in such acts!" Sora put a finger to his lips to shush her.

"Please, you're not really my cup of tea, so don't even worry."

When they finally reached his apartment room and stepped inside it, Sora pulled her over to the sofa and made her sit down. She looked around his place in awe.

"I never knew an apartment could be so big!" The "apartment" looked even bigger than her old house back in Destiny Islands. There was even a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor while the kitchen and living room combined was way too big for one person.

"It's one of my dad's buildings," he explained as he threw his tie somewhere on the ground. "He boosted my room a lot." Sora gave her one last look before deciding to give her some hot milk so she can fall asleep and shut the hell up. Kairi continued to study the apartment in a daze as Sora disappeared into the kitchen. She wondered if he lived all alone in this humongous apartment. Even in her drunk state, she could feel the loneliness of it all.

Feeling super tired, she collapsed on the couch, reveling in the coldness of the leather skin. She took out her phone and opened Facebook, torturing herself by looking at his past photos once more. She hadn't checked it in a while, so when she discovered new pictures of _them_ together besides the most latest one she saw, it only caused more pain.

"Vanitas," she muttered, swiping a thumb over his face. His handsome face, his cocky grin, and his dark hair-she unfortunately could not forget, even after more than half a year. He was the reason why she decided to go to college outside of Destiny Islands. He was the reason why she hated the ocean and sunsets now.

He was the reason why she could not find herself to believe in love anymore.

"Here." She felt something being thrown at her while the clink of a glass sounded on the table. She held whatever he threw up to her face and recognized it as a box of tissues. "Cry your heart out before you regret everything in the next morning." She sat up and looked at the tissue box blankly before taking out a bunch and wiping her eyes. "Just so you know, you're taking the sofa, and I'm taking the bed, so grow comfortable where you are now." Sora pulled a small stool out from the corner and sat across from her.

"Is that how you treat a lady?" Kairi whimpered.

"Oh, I forgot you were one." Sora deeply questioned why he continued to throw insults at her when she clearly was not up for it, for his comment triggered another sob fest.

"Why am I not one, huh? Is it because I'm a tomboy? I like skateboarding? I don't like parties or alcohol or clubbing or-" Sora wasn't sure if he had permission to listen to all the stuff she was spewing, for the more she talked, the more he felt that she was no longer even talking to him anymore because it was starting to get _personal._ "I'm sorry I'm not pretty enough to be or that my red hair is abnorm-"

"Drink your stupid milk." He took the glass and placed it within her hands. She looked at it weirdly before taking a sip of it. She then cringed.

"It's not alcohol."

"Because I just said that it was fucking milk."

"But I want alcohol though."

"You just said you didn't like it."

"I want to be part of his world though." Sora rubbed both hands to his face; he was not used to talks like this with a girl. Of course, he had something similar to this with Riku, but with a girl?

 _No._

Actually, he did with _one_ girl, but that was a completely different story.

"I don't know what your situation is, but," he scratched his cheek, not sure if he was in the position to say anything, "You shouldn't change yourself just for some guy. If he does stuff you don't like, then you don't like it. It's as simple as that."

"He cheated on me," she sniffed in response, which ticked Sora off by a bit.

"Are you even listening to me?" She took a huge gulp of her milk and nodded.

"Am I not good enough?" she sobbed, taking more tissue paper. "I don't understand. Even after half a year, I'm still stupid and still thinking about him after he done me so wrong!"

"It's okay; I think that's kind of normal," Sora admitted. His mind began to venture into things he shouldn't, and he quickly shook such thoughts out of his head, not wanting to think about his problems now when Kairi was a huge mess. "Stop downgrading yourself. It's not going to help."

"But it's how I actually feel," she said. She could already feel the droopiness of her eyes as they tried to focus on Sora to keep awake. "And I feel like it's true too."

"If one guy can mess with your self-confidence so much, then you're an idiot." Kairi began to grow angry with him; he had not said anything to make her feel better at all-only negative things.

"Look, you-"

"I think you skateboarding is cool." Sora looked away while Kairi stopped talking to listen to him. Sora crossed his fingers that she wouldn't remember anything he was saying the next morning. "I don't particularly think it's a bad thing that you don't like parties or alcohol or clubbing. Rather, I think it's cool that you don't.

"You're not ugly either; I don't know why you keep saying you are. Why don't you like your red hair? I think your red hair is pretty-you're pretty. So I think you should quit it with the whole-" He looked at her again and sighed.

She fell asleep.

Standing up and taking the almost-empty glass of milk out of her hands, Sora went upstairs and returned back down with a blanket in his hands. Carelessly throwing it over her (but making sure it covered her), he rubbed a hand through his hair and sighed for the nth time.

"Troublesome, troublesome person. I should've recorded everything for blackmail." He grabbed one of the pillows of the sofa, lifted her head slowly and slipped the pillow under. Seeing her hair fall over her face, Sora gently pushed it away with a finger and smiled slightly.

"So you can be a girl sometimes too, huh?"

When Kairi woke up the next morning, she never wanted to dig a hole to forever bury herself in so bad.

 **Hey guys! I didn't know I wrote so much until I saw the word count HAHA Thanks for reading guys. Knowing that people are enjoying this is ! for me :) I hope I won't let you guys down with bad events/bad writing, cause TTTOTTT Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :)))) hope the sokai isn't abrupt (i feel like i'm bad at development but yoLoOO) :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Namine held her phone in confusion as she tried calling her sister, but for some reason, she was not picking up. It was currently two in the afternoon, and her plan with the Roxas guy was at three; she still didn't know if she could go with them, and she really, _really_ wanted to go with them. She had gone up to her dorm room to check if she had slept in, but she was perplexed to see only Xion answer the door.

"After she stormed out last night, I have no idea where she is right now," Xion admitted. However, that was all she offered before shutting the door on Namine-which Namine thought was a little bit rude. But being the person who saw the good in everyone, she just shrugged the matter off. _Maybe she just woke up._

Now she was just scouting around the clock tower of the school like a lost sheep, trying to find where her sister was. Her delusions began to get wild as her imaginative mind started to wonder into depths it shouldn't have.

"What if she got kidnapped?" Namine pondered as she held her chin. "Or maybe she got mixed in with the bad people at night?" Namine, suddenly realizing the seriousness of the situation, began calling her sister again and whirled around to go head off to the administration office to report a missing person. However, she headbutted against someone's chest and nearly fell backwards and dropped her phone in the process.

"Oops, sorry."

"Shoot, I wasn't looking at where I was going. Sorry." As her phone rang, she looked up to see who she bumped into and was quite surprised to clash with the person she was going to see in an hour right in front of her. A look of recognition passed by his face before he smiled kindly at her. He mouthed a greeting, not wanting to bother her phone call. She offered a small, polite smile in return before sighing and ending the call when it went straight to Kairi's voicemail.

"Namine?" Namine blinked as she looked at him.

 _He's pretty cute._

"The one and only. Roxas?" He nodded, shook hands with her, and stuffed his hands back into his pockets. He then scanned the area before looking back at her.

"Looking for your sister?" Namine nodded, feeling a bit shy. She had not really talked to him, but Kairi was right when she said he was extraordinarily friendly-a little bit too friendly to the point where she didn't feel too awkward talking to him, and she was awkward with almost every guy.

"I have received no signs of life from her the whole day, which is extremely weird."

"Huh. She's not at the dorm?"

"Yeah. I'm kind of worried." Roxas rubbed the back of his neck in thought, trying to see if there was any reason for the redhead to be missing.

"She's usually quick at replying back by phone, so that's kind of weird, but if I hear no signs of life from her by three, then we can do something about it." Namine felt uneasy at the option of continuing to wait, but Roxas's calmness convinced her otherwise.

"Alright, then. By the way..."

"Yes?"

"Can I go?" He laughed before giving her a thumbs up.

~.~.~

 _"C'mon, Kai," he chuckled as he pushed her onto his bed. "You're such a shy girl." Kairi blushed as he climbed over her, his dark eyes gazing into her own. However, despite the fluttering feeling in her chest, it felt..._

 _Wrong._

 _"Wait, Van," Kairi murmured into his shoulder as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. She giggled slightly when his hair tickled her, but that didn't stop her from gently pushing him back up. He didn't fight against it, but he didn't look too happy about it either._

 _"What is it?" His smile morphed into a small frown as he stared at her. Kairi swallowed the nervous lump in her throat before sitting up against his bed post. She twiddled her fingers, something she always did whenever she was conflicted._

 _"I think we're moving a little bit too fast." Vanitas clicked his tongue in disappointment, something she really didn't want to see._

 _"We've been together for over a year and a half already. What are you talking about?" Slightly perturbed at his logic, she returned his frown with her own._

 _"I don't think that determines anything." He gave her an odd look before closing in on her and kissing her. She closed her eyes-a bit unwillingly-but immediately shot them back open and pushed him away a little bit rougher when she felt his hand creep underneath her shirt._

 _"Van, I'm serious." Her parents had yet to find out about him, and she was scared to introduce him to them too-he didn't have the qualities of a person her parents would exactly approve of. Doing stuff behind their backs just increased the guilt, and using her friends as an escape method also made her feel sick to the stomach sometimes too. If they did anything more than whatever they were used to, she wouldn't be able to live without a heavy burden on her shoulders._

 _Vanitas's face hardened before he retracted himself away from her and sat on the edge of the bed. Instantly, she felt guilty towards him too._

 _"Whatever."_

 _"Van-" she reached out towards him, but he only avoided her touch. A strike of pain ran through her chest as they sat in deafening silence. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and turned back towards her with a weak smile._

 _"Sorry." He turned back towards her and cupped her cheek, already seeing the tears of hurt forming around her eyes. He laughed softly before pulling her in for a hug. Kairi held onto his shirt and felt a sense of relief run through her as he gently stroked her hair._

 _But that was just a premonition of the worst that was yet to come._

"Get up." Kairi awoke in a shock as she felt something soft hit her head.

The first thing she noticed was the hard platform she was on, and it took her a while to realize that she was flat on the floor. Moving her limbs, she immediately felt the ache in them as she tried to turn on her side, only for the blanket-which seemed to weigh one thousand pounds-to make it difficult for her. The second thing she noted was that the blanket did not smell like her _at all._

 _What the fuck?_

Of course, the last and most striking thing she noticed was the big, enormous headache that drilled through her skull. Propping herself up by the elbows, she managed to rip herself free from the heavy blankets and sat up against the foot of the sofa. Noticing the pillow that was thrown at her, she frowned. She then looked around and began to panic when she did not recognize her surroundings.

 _What in the flipping bats did I do yesterday?_

"Your first hangover. Wonderful, isn't it?" She let out a sharp intake of breath and whipped her head forward towards the voice and paled when she saw Sora standing near the entryway that led to the kitchen. At that second, a million thoughts-mostly questions-raced through her head.

Dressed in his casual attire, Sora merely leaned against the side and looked at her with pure, taunting amusement. He waved the water bottle in his hand to warn her before he threw it at her. Catching it, she instantly relished the feeling of the coldness of the bottle in her hand, but her mind began to go haywire as she tried to remember what in the world led to this.

"W-why?" was all she managed to stutter out as he came towards her. In one swift motion, he ripped the blankets away from her and folded it into neat squares before setting it off to the side. She looked down at her clothes and felt slightly relieved that everything was intact. He caught her motion and smirked.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but nothing happened." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yuck. If anything did happen, I would have to bathe myself in boiling water to disinfect myself." Sora raised an eyebrow; her drunk self and normal self were two completely different entities. She stood up and groaned as she clutched her head in pain. Uncapping the water bottle, she chugged the whole thing before recapping it and throwing it at Sora, who had to play hot potato with it for a few moments before securing a hold on it. "Where the hell am I?" She rubbed a hand down her face as she tried to turn on her phone, only to find out that it was dead once more.

"My apartment." Kairi widened her eyes at the enormity of it before frowning.

"How did I even get here?" Sora opened his mouth to explain, but she held up a hand to stop him. "Just don't even answer. All I remember is getting wild at the party. I must've drunk some weird shit, didn't I?" Sora looked at her suspiciously-she was acting a little bit _too_ calm.

"You don't remember anything?"

"Nope."

"...Okay, then."

"Where's the bathroom?" Sora pointed left towards a door that was across from the front door.

"Over there. You better hurry it up; you have long overstayed your visit. I have somewhere to go." He didn't have to say that twice. Kairi turned on her heels and took a step towards the bathroom.

"Wouldn't want to be here any second longer anyway." Sora rolled his eyes at her attitude as she stalked to the bathroom and closed the door with a slam. Last night must've been a delusion, for there was no way she was that-

" _Kill me now!_ " Sora winced when her glass-shattering shriek echoed loudly within the bathroom walls like a banshee's. She screamed so loud that he could barely make out what she said. Sora let out a small laugh as he went to go fetch his keys from his room.

She definitely remembered.

When she came out all freshened up (she didn't feel too guilty for prying out a brand new toothbrush from the package), Sora was already by the front door waiting for her with phone in hand. When he heard her arrival, he looked up and looked at her knowingly. She merely put on her stoic mask.

"There was a spider in there," she simply stated.

"And I was born yesterday on Mars." Kairi looked away, a bit embarrassed at the whole ruckus she caused him yesterday. She didn't really remember _everything_ , but she did remember herself crying about her ex to a stranger, which was already bad enough. She couldn't even imagine what nonsense she spouted at him last night. _Kill me now, kill me now, kill me now._

"Sorry, I got kind of-oh," she let out the last part stupidly when Sora walked up to her suddenly and placed a hand on her head. Before she could question what he was doing, he ruffled her hair in whatever manner, she wouldn't know, before retracting his hand back inside his pocket. She furrowed her eyebrows as she attempted to smooth her hair out again. "What the heck was that for?"

"I pity you."

"Pardon?" Sora ignored her and checked his wristwatch and let out a hum of hesitation.

"It's kind of too late for breakfast, but-"

"Wait, what?" Kairi grabbed his wrist and checked his watch, much to his discomfort. However, she didn't pay heed to such a small matter; she was freaking out that it was _two_ in the afternoon.

"Crap, I'm going to be late," she said quickly as she put on her shoes. "Crap, crap, crap. Namine's going to freak on me. Oh my God, why did my phone have to die right now? Why did I even go to a party in the first place? God freaking damn it, I make such bad decisions." Sora watched as she clumsily stuffed her feet inside her shoes and rambled about her dilemmas out loud, something she usually did whenever she was completely flustered.

"What's gotten you in a frenzy?"

"Please, can give me a lift back to the campus?"

"Be thankful I'm going back over there anyway. I'm in a rush too, so shoo shoo." He opened the door and allowed her to go first. Tapping her shoe against the floor to get her foot securely in, Kairi stumbled out the door, eager to get out of his apartment as well-she really didn't want to stay a second longer.

Because it was just plain _weird._

"But watch your-"

Not seeing the small step down in front of her, she took a mini dive through plain air. Immediately, the adrenaline rushed through her veins when her foot did not land on _anything_ , causing her to lose her balance and tip over, and if it wasn't for the arm that shot out and wrapped itself around her waist, she would've had another close call to potential death.

"-step," his voice sounded, a little bit _too_ close to her ear. She felt herself get a bit warm as he steadied her. The moment she found footing, she immediately ripped herself away from him, and he was glad to let go of her too.

"T-thanks," she stuttered. He turned to lock the door before closing it.

"You're a gigantic klutz," he grumbled as he took out his keys from his pocket and walked towards the elevator. "Didn't you learn how to walk on two feet when you were, I don't know, two?" Kairi didn't bother throwing anything back at him as she followed his footsteps towards his car. With all the trouble she put him through and all the embarrassment and foolishness she went through herself, words were simply not the remedy for making her feel any better.

 _Kairi, in less than twenty-four hours, you went to a party, got flat-out smashed at a party, cried about your ex to some stranger, and got knocked out at that stranger's home!_ If she could have the power to redo the whole night again, she would do absolutely anything.

 _Anything._

Sora tried his hardest not to laugh at the self-destructing redhead who was having a mental breakdown in his car on the way back to the campus.

When they finally returned to the campus, Kairi quickly escaped the confinements of his car and said a quick thanks before dashing away, both for the sake of her appointment and for the last bit of pride she had left around him, for it had all been completely crushed and destroyed a good fourteen hours ago.

However, before she left, she asked him a question that she, on impulse, asked out of curiosity.

"Since it's almost been, like, three weeks, and you seem to be able to drive again, so does that mean I'm done being your serv-"

"I don't think you really have the right to ask me that after everything."

"You're right. Good bye."

When she was a good distance away from the car, Sora burst out laughing as he pressed his forehead against the wheel of his car.

He found her absolutely _hilarious._

Even when his phone, which was connected to the car through Bluetooth, rang incessantly loud, he couldn't stop his chuckling as he answered it.

"Hello?" he said through his snickers.

"Sora! You here yet?" the voice echoed through the stereo. Having not read the name of whoever was calling, he instantly stopped laughing when he recognized the caller as Xion and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I'm in the parking lot A." She giggled into the phone, which caused a weird flutter to run through his chest.

"Be right there!"

~.~.~

Kairi ran her tongue on the inside of her cheek as she sat on the bench near the girl's dormitory-nervously, she might add. Standing in front of her was Namine, who had her arms crossed, which was not good. When Namine had her arms crossed, it spelled "lecture time."

Kairi averted her gaze from her younger sister and glanced at Roxas, who was awkwardly trying not to listen in on their conversation, but that was hard considering he was at a good range to listen. He had his phone out and everything, but Kairi knew he was obviously listening in.

"I was freaking out about your disappearance all of a sudden and was about to report you as a missing person, but then you come back with hair that looks like it just went through an electric fence _and_ came out of a toaster."

"Sorry." Namine raised an eyebrow as her eyes darted from her Kairi's eyes to something more below.

"Not only that, but you come clad in a boy's jacket?" Kairi choked on her saliva and thumped her chest harshly, not expecting that one at all. She looked down and realized that she was still wearing his jacket and opened her mouth to explain, but Namine continued to beat her down. Leaning down next to her ear, Namine whispered, "It's a no brainer to figure out what the hell the initials S.H. stand for." Kairi, confused, followed her gaze and grimaced when she saw what she was talking about: Sora's initials in tiny cursive near the hem of the jacket.

"What the _fuck_ -" Kairi felt her heart stop, for her sister never _ever_ cursed, "-did you do last night? I see you come towards me from the parking lot in this state all _crazed_ up. Holy god, I can't even imagine what you got yourself in-"

"Namine," Kairi interrupted in a low voice; the blonde was beginning to jump to very hasty conclusions. "It is a very, _very_ long story, and-"

"You're going to freaking tell me that 'very, very long story' or else I'm going to throw you for the birds to peck at." Namine's eyes narrowed before she sighed. "Of course, if you're still determined to keep secrets from me after the whole-"

"No, I won't ever again," Kairi sharply cut in. Namine's gaze instantly softened, eyes searching for any lies behind her sister's eyes; she had been kept in the dark far too long back when they were in high school. Kairi swallowed and managed a small smile. "Not again. Really."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you later, but don't worry; it's not what you think it is. Really." Namine gave her the dubious eye before finally letting it go and uncrossing her arms.

"Okay then."

After finally getting Namine to calm down from the surprise, Kairi quickly went up to her dorm to change and brush her hair. She was hoping to see Xion on the way and apologize for suddenly just rushing out last night, but was disappointed not to see her there.

When she went back down, she had to hide behind the wall for a second because she saw an _interesting_ sight.

"So who's the older sister again? Is it you?" Roxas asked in a light manner. Namine laughed before shaking her head.

"Kairi is, but sometimes she's a bit too..."

"Not older sister-ly?"

"Oh, yeah, _definitely_. Plus a few other things, but that's a completely different story." Roxas chuckled as Namine rolled her eyes. Of course, Kairi didn't like the fact that they were laughing about _her_ , but what really irked her was that Namine was not being a complete shy freak she usually was with the opposite gender.

 _You go, Namine._

After the two blondes receded into a silence, Kairi found it the right time to make her appearance and stepped out of the shadows.

"So, ready to go?"

~.~.~

"Sora, you can't just handle him like that!" Xion giggled as she watched Sora try to bring the corgi into his arms. The chubby dog wiggled its body defiantly against his hold, not at all comfortable at the way Sora was handling it with one hand and a half-ish. Sora decided to just let the poor dog go when he accepted his fate that no animal would ever grow to accept his affections. Even when he wasn't crippled, animals never liked him in the first place.

Reason? He probably just had some sort of aura or scent they just didn't like.

"And why are we even here?" Sora questioned for the third time since he picked Xion up. He swirled his coffee with a spoon before drinking it. "I never really took you to be a dog person." Xion beckoned a small chihuahua to come towards her before answering.

"Psh, you know I'm an animal lover. This shouldn't come as a surprise." Sora leaned an elbow against the table and rested the side of his face on a hand, eyebrows slightly etched in a frown. It was true that she _did_ like animals, but she called him up wanting to drink _coffee and tea._

 _What in the world?_ Sora knew she was extremely picky with her caffeine; it had to be at the coffee shop downtown, or it was a no go for her.

So why a dog cafe?

As he sat pondering the reason why this unusual phenomenon was happening, the jingling of the bells on top of the door signaled the entering of new customers. With a barrier that blocked his view of the front entrance, Sora could not see who they were.

"Oh my gosh, if we had one of these type of places back at Destiny Islands, I would camp and live in it forever," Namine squealed excitedly as she tottered on her feet. Bending down, she happily greeted one of the dogs instantly came up to her feet with an affectionate belly rub while Kairi and Roxas went over to a table to sit down and prepare the camera.

"This is so not calculus," Kairi said with an eye roll as she configured his camera. He simply smiled a cheeky grin.

"Think of it as a tour. Both of you seemed super excited about it anyway, so no harm. By the way," he jerked a thumb over at Namine, who now had three dogs surrounding her as she played with them near the play area. "How's her project coming along?" Kairi shrugged.

"Didn't really say anything. All I know is that her partner is that close friend of yours. Axe, or something?"

"Axel," Roxas corrected, "And that's unfortunate because that guy is as useful as a fish out of water-pretty useless." Kairi shook her head with a click of her tongue as she handed the camera to him.

"Tell your friend to prepare because Namine's going to work him to death. She absolutely hates freeloaders on projects, so watch out."

"Oh, really? Doesn't seem to be the type." Kairi narrowed her eyes slightly in a scrutinizing manner at Roxas, who was now fixing the settings of the camera one last time before they started filming their "highly educating video."

"What type of person do you think she is then?" Roxas looked up, saw the look of mischief on Kairi's face, and slightly raised an eyebrow in suspicion before shaking his head to himself and standing up.

"Just go do what your heart desires while I film you like a creep." _Completely avoiding the question, I see._ "Go crazy. Make sure you don't suffocate them, though."

"I trust you to capture all my good angles," Kairi joked as she flipped her hair over her shoulders. "My left side is better than my right."

"Right side it is."

Back at Sora's table, he began to grow a bit suspicious as Xion kept trying to edge her chair off to the side of the barrier and peeked at _whatever_ she was looking at before sliding her chair back to the table to return to her latte. Noticing his observing look, she smiled at him-as if that was going to cast his suspicion away- and pointed at the plate of chocolate cookies.

"You haven't touched them." Sora scratched his cheek awkwardly and pursed his lips; he didn't really like chocolate, but since Xion wanted them, he didn't really say anything. He tried not to touch upon the fact that Xion had known him ever since high school and still to this day does not know his dislike for the sweet. He really tried not to.

Since she never really looked at him properly in the first place.

"Uh, I'm not feeling the sweets today. You can have them." Xion's eyes lit up, but she quickly caught herself.

"You sure?" Sora laughed before offering a small smile.

"Knock yourself out." Xion gladly took the small plate of cookies and began to munch on one. Of course, her motion of sliding her chair slightly back and looking past the barrier didn't go unnoticed by him, but he decided to assume that she was just looking at some cute dog or something.

 _Yeah, right._

"Something on your mind?" he asked slowly. She immediately looked back at him and offered a sheepish smile.

"No, nothing. Just thinking the place looks nice." Sora ran his lazy eyes over the interior of the cafe and sighed. It was just an ordinary place with its creative wall paintings and bright atmospheric nature-nothing was really _outstanding_ -but considering it was Xion, who appreciated a lot of weird and quirky things...

"Fair enough."

"Isn't it, though?"

"Sure." Sora stood up from his chair and stretched his arms over his head. He didn't notice how Xion became greatly unnerved at the motion. Jerking a thumb towards the bathroom, he said a quick, "Gotta go to the bathroom," before turning around and heading towards the doors that were parallel to their table. From behind, Xion let out a sigh in relief when he didn't turn his head towards the right.

Entering the bathroom, he sought refuge at the sink as he placed his hands over the counter and stared at his reflection off the mirror.

"Sora, stop being a wimpy pushover," he told himself. Looking at his caramel-brown hair, he turned on the water faucet roughly and tried to apply water over his hair to calm down his wild spikes, but when he thought it was close to being flattened, they popped back alive. Letting out a sound of frustration, he roughly jerked the water faucet handle off and shook his head, letting tiny droplets of water spray in every direction.

He hated his spiky hair, period. Out of his whole family, his gravity-defying hair was the spikiest out of everyone. When he was young, he thought it was pretty cool, since no one really shared such a trait like his. Always known for his signature hairstyle, he held some strange pride over it because of its ability to define some part of him as "unique."

Now he hated it since his hair wasn't as calm as a certain someone's.

Giving himself one last look, he collected himself (and his emotions) together before he decided that he had spent enough time in the bathrooms. Whenever someone stayed in them too long, Xion liked to crack silly taking-a-dump jokes-he wanted to spare himself from at least that.

As he walked towards the door and swung it, he didn't take into account that he could whack someone passing by good in the face with the door if he didn't watch out (but who does that anyway?). Just when he opened enough space for him to go through, an unknown obstruction blocked the door's path, and a thud sounded as the person rammed into the wall of the narrow way towards the bathroom. Immediately, Sora panicked and quickly slipped through the door.

"Shoot, I am _so_ sorry," he apologized, and he felt instantly worse when he realized that the person he smacked was a girl-and a rather fragile one at that. The blonde recovered from her faceplant into the wall and let out a breath to let all the feelings of shock from the surprise drain away.

"It's okay," she assured as she saw the look on Sora's face. When she looked up, and when her eyes made contact with his, a sense of recognition immediately struck through both of them. Sora furrowed his eyebrows slightly as he tried to pinpoint where he had seen her before, and Namine the same. Then it finally clicked.

"Nami-something!"

"The bully!"

Both obviously didn't appreciate the greeting they gave to each other.

"The bully? Really?"

"Is my name really that hard to remember?" Sora and Namine stared at each other for a moment before cracking into small smiles. Sora rubbed the back of his neck and had to awkwardly do some side step twirl to move away from the bathroom door and allow an impatient man to pass through.

"Anyways, sorry about that." Namine shook her head.

"It's alright." Silence. Sora held both his hands up to signal for her to go first through the narrow hallway, and she did. Sora followed behind, and when he saw Namine's form from behind, he finally remembered the small detail that this blonde was Kairi's sister.

 _One's a blondie and one's a redhead_ , he thought, a bit confused at their genetic makeup, but decided to call it a "freak of nature." Of course, there wasn't anything bad to it.

Uniqueness.

 _Wish I could embrace my own._

When they reached the end of the hallway, the two separated to go to their own paths. Sora tilted his head down slightly to say a sort of goodbye-acknowledgement to Namine, which she responded with a small upward curl of her lips, before heading back over to his table with Xion. However, before he could even walk three steps, the name she called out made him freeze on the spot.

"Roxas, what are you doing to that poor dog?" The familiar tone of laughter that Sora could never mistake rang in the air as he approached Namine.

"I'm saving it from Kairi's clutches. She's mishandling the poor thing, so she's taking over camera work now."

"Like you're even making it better! Give him to me, oh, you poor thing!" When Roxas came over to hand the dog over to Namine, Sora finally had a full view of him. Likewise, Roxas's silly grin slowly dissolved when he noticed Sora's figure standing by the sidelines, and he suddenly became rigid. Namine, not yet knowing what was going on, went towards Roxas instead by a few more steps to take the dog out of his hands. When she noticed that his line of sight was directed somewhere off to the side, she followed it and was thoroughly perplexed as she looked between the two.

"Oh, Sora," Roxas managed to let out, offering a cordial, yet strained smile. Sora looked away, and finally, the reason why he was even at this dog cafe finally came to light. He looked over to where Xion was, and the look of astonishment on her face was enough to confirm his suspicions. "Why are you here? I never took you to be the type of person to-"

"Well, I'm not going to be in here in the next minute," Sora cut in coldly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Roxas's smile faltered, and a sad look graced his features.

"Why is everyone just standing around here? Hey, Roxas, I think we have enough film for the video." Kairi, who was having a difficult time cropping the bad shots Roxas purposely did to annoy her (it was a misconception that he was a nice guy), went over to Namine and Roxas to see what was making the atmosphere all tense and strange, and shot both eyebrows up in surprise as she saw Sora once again after two hours. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again when she realized that it was not the right time to say anything when she felt the tension.

Sora noticed Kairi, but she was the least of his problems as he struggled to either blast his frustration or rush out the door, but with all four people staring him down, he chose the latter and walked quickly past Xion's table and towards the door.

"Wait, Sora," Xion shot her hand out to grab him by the wrist, but he shook it off. "I really was planning to tell you what I was doing here, but-"

"Too late." And with that and the jingling of the bells on top of the door, Sora was out.

Roxas sucked his lips in while Namine and Kairi stood dumbfounded, lost on what was going on. Xion, who was now standing out of her chair, gave Roxas a guilty look, which he returned with a weak smile. Looking between everyone with absolutely no clue on what the heck was going on, Kairi spotted Sora's phone on the table, and since no one was obviously going to bring it to the hothead, she went over to the table, grabbed his phone, and rushed out the door before he disappeared somewhere.

Luckily, he hadn't made it that far yet down the street when Kairi caught up to him.

"Dude, wait-" she grabbed him by the jacket, in which he harshly ripped from her grasp. He turned around with a vehement look, but when he realized it was Kairi, he closed his eyes momentarily to calm himself down and faced her again.

"Sorry. Look, I'm not looking for any-" To make him shut up before he started to blow at her, Kairi took his hand and placed his phone into it. He instantly shut up and blinked. Kairi released a huge sigh and put her hands on her hips.

"At least make sure you got your stuff with you. That's why I branded your white jacket so that you won't ever lose it." It was obviously not the mood to joke around, but what else was she supposed to say?

They weren't really friends.

As always, the afternoon streets of Twilight Town were always energetic, although not as much as the night time. The sun shone harshly on the entirety of the place, nearly roasting Kairi's feet as the scorching pavement dug its heat through her shoes. Sora shielded his eyes from the sunlight and stared at Kairi expectantly. She stared right back, feeling a sense of challenge arising.

"Aren't you going to go?"

"I should. My sister's back there."

"Go so that I can go too."

"Nothing's stopping you."

"Well-"

"Want to talk about it?" Sora felt a shiver ran down his spine as Kairi uttered her words-they sounded way too friendly. It was a strange thing he was not used to, since he always received that annoying and irritating sass from her. His frustration towards the matter before rapidly evolved into suspicion towards Kairi, completely taking his mind off the things he didn't want to think about.

"Are you possessed?" he blurted out bluntly. He didn't waste any time to make sure this was _the_ Kairi Lockhart he was talking to. Kairi moved her jaw slowly, clearly offended.

"I'm actually a nice person once you get to know me."

"Yeah, and so is Sephiroth once you get to know him too over a campfire." Sora tried to maintain a nonchalant face, but Kairi's stomp on the ground and menacing eyes was just too amusing. _She's funny._ "But I'll pass. I've seen you way too much for the past twenty-four hours for my liking."

"You make it sound like I'm the one wanting your company."

"And isn't that tr-"

"Which will never be the case."

"Wouldn't want you to anyway." Kairi stuck her tongue out at him before shaking her head and returning back to the matter at hand.

"Well, I'm not a person who likes debt weighing me down." Sora gave her a quizzical look.

"Debt?" At this, Kairi regained some of the embarrassment because of the night before. She was hoping Sora knew what she was hinting at with the way she phrased it so that it could save her the humility of going through the horrid experience again, but he didn't.

"As thanks for taking care of me and what not and giving me encouraging words." At this, Sora instantly coughed as his throat suddenly hitched on him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. Behind his back, he crossed his fingers. _God, don't fail me now._ Kairi suddenly looked down at her feet and felt herself turn warm when it was already hot enough.

"Words of encouragement before I blacked out." Sora licked his lips and looked up into the sky.

 _You're pretty._ Sora groaned inwardly. _Kill. Me. Now._

As the day went on, Kairi slowly regained memory of what fiasco took place last night, and managed to remember most of what happened well.

A little bit too well, much to Sora's dismay.

"Don't know what you're talking about." Sora turned on his heels and strode to his car to avoid such an awkward topic. Being nice just felt so _unnatural_ , so when someone actually started bugging him about it and pointing it out, he was ready to run at any time. All of it was just too cringeworthy and cheesy for him. He had a dose from Riku way too many times before; he didn't want to have an overdose from Kairi.

"Aren't I still your right-hand man? Let me repay you!" Kairi shouted after him as she trailed him. He shook his head; now she was admitting to the fact that she _was_ his right-hand man!

"No, go away. I dismiss you from your duty from now on, so buzz off. It's not really any of your business, you idiot," he shot back exasperatedly as he unlocked his car. She was beginning to creep him out big time.

"Dude, an eye for an eye." Kairi half-lied; she did feel bad for causing trouble for him, so she wanted to do _something_ in return. But she also had a feeling that he was going to blackmail her one day and make fun of her if she didn't get even. _Kairi Lockhart, you sly creature._ So all in all, this was kind of for her-but of course, it would be great if it would make him feel better too.

When Sora didn't say anything when she opened the door to his car, she figured that he really was a person of big words. She made sure to text Namine about what was going on when she got in. However, before she did, a very familiar voice called them out from the sidewalk.

"Whoa, Sora?" Half-way in his car, he took his foot out and looked over the roof of his car to see who had called his name. A look of pleasant surprise crossed his face, but it slowly turned into a disapproving look when he noticed all the shopping bags in her hand.

"Really, Selphie, really?" he deadpanned as he signaled towards all of them. She looked down to see what he was pointing at and giggled.

"Monthly shopping spree!"

"More like daily, but alright." Selphie gave him a peace sign before directing her eyes on Kairi, who was the last person she thought would be hanging around Sora.

"Kairi! What the," she darted a finger between Sora and Kairi, "You two know each other?" Sora and Kairi looked at each other oddly.

"Not really," came the simultaneous response. Selphie frowned before shrugging the matter off and breaking into a bubbly grin.

"Sora, give me a lift!"

~.~.~

"Dude, fuck that bitch, why do you keep hanging around her? Sora, are you a dumbass?" Kairi tried not to be involved in the heated discussion Sora and bipolar-Selphie were having as they sat at one of the tables on campus. Selphie had tagged along with them and had forced Sora to drive her back to the campus. Surprisingly, he complied grudgingly.

All was great until Kairi mentioned Xion.

"Selphie, it's not the right time to talk about this," Sora muttered as he glanced at Kairi. "We have another audience here."

"We need a third opinion on this!" Selphie shot her fiery eyes towards Kairi. "Right?" Kairi had no idea what the hell they were even talking about.

"I wasn't even planning to say anything about it. I was actually just planning to dump her off the streets somewhere so she would stop bothering me."

"Hey!"

"So can you not, Selphie?" Sora groaned as he tried to flatten his hair once again. At the motion, Selphie reached over the table and slapped his hand away, and Kairi could tell she did not hold back at all as the sound of it rang loudly.

"Stop trying to make your hair become something it's not! C'mon, Sora, I think it's awesome. Right, Kairi? This guy is so sensitive about his hair."

"Selphie, _shut up._ " Kairi kept her mouth shut as they continued to have their silly bickering. "Why do you like discussing my private life with people?"

"To wake your stupid mind up!" She turned back towards Kairi and clasped her hands together. "Kairi, this guy has love sickness. _Major_ love sickness." Kairi, completely caught off guard of the notion of Sora _in love_ , widened her eyes and looked over at him, who just had a hand over his forehead.

"Please stop."

"Remember how I said that bitch broke my best friend's heart?" Kairi nodded, starting to have a gist of what was going on. Selphie pointed her index finger at Sora, who was now completely uninvolved from the conversation as he scrolled through his phone. His nonchalance towards the fact that Selphie was spilling something very personal freaked Kairi out a lot. "It's this guy here."

"Oh," was the only thoughtful response Kairi could give. Selphie sighed and took a sip of her soda she had gotten during her shopping spree.

"Long story short-and it doesn't need to be any longer to even understand what the right thing to do is-Xion led him on, took his heart and ripped it into two with her bare hands, and is still stringing this poor soul along with her! Who the hell does that to their ex that they dumped into the pits of the ocean!" At this, Kairi was further surprised; Xion and Sora were actually together at one point. "And here's the real problem here: he allows himself to be strung along like a poor fly in a spider's web!"

"Well, I wouldn't phrase it like that," Sora countered. "You're making it sound like it's a crime."

"She's using you!"

"What am I suppose to do, shun her?"

"Yes!" Kairi felt so out of place-maybe she shouldn't have tagged along. "Shun her until the darkness consumes her, and when the timing is right, stab her with a-"

"Stop, Selphie, _stop._ " Noticing her own rampage, Selphie huffed a huge breath and flipped her hair over her shoulder in order to relax. Clearing her throat, she gave Kairi a wide, friendly, and apologetic smile.

"Sorry, this subject just heats me up so bad. But besides that, what do you think, Kairi? That's not right, right? This numbskull so stubborn, it's poisonous-it is really." Right when Kairi was about to say _something_ , Selphie's phone rang. She took it out of her purse and answered it.

"What? Right now? Oh, hell no-no, don't worry, I'll be right there _in a second_. Stay put!" Selphie hurriedly stood up, shopping bags and all. Sora quirked an eyebrow up to question her. "My little munchkin Mr. Periwinkle is getting bullied in the cat-care center! Ugh, I must hurry to him. Ciao!" Selphie skipped away, off in less than a second without even staying long enough to hear Sora's and Kairi's goodbye towards her.

Why did Kairi always find herself to be with Sora _alone_ all the time recently? Expecting him to do the same and leave, she didn't know what to say to him as he remained solid in his seat as he scrolled through his phone.

"Now we're even."

"Huh?" Sora rolled his eyes.

"An eye for an eye?"

"Oh." It wasn't what Kairi had had in mind, but...

 _Sure._ Though, it wasn't exactly the full story and she was still completely lost at what happened between him and Xion, she decided not to question him about anything.

Plus, why would he tell her anything?

Surprisingly, he continued.

"I felt pretty bad for actually listening to your drunk rambling last night-usually, such things are too trivial to even listen to-but it was pretty personal, so yeah. I don't know, kind of a strange trade, don't you think? Now I feel less bad."

For some odd, odd, _very odd_ reason, Kairi felt her heart palpitate a bit faster than normal, especially when he curled his lips into a small smile in response to the weird look she was giving him.

"What?"

"N-nothing." Kairi cleared her throat. "You know, minus your snide comments and asshole-like attitude, you're actually a nice guy."

"I don't know if that's a compliment, since it's so damn contradictive, but _pfft._ You're realizing my charms a little bit too late." At this, Kairi rolled her eyes. She observed as he ran a hand down his hair again, trying with no avail to flatten down the spikes, only for them to pop back up. Curious, she asked about it without thinking.

"Do you not like your hair?" Sora stopped doing what he was doing before shrugging.

"Kind of."

"Why?" She automatically knew that it _was_ a sensitive subject he didn't want to talk about when his posture stiffened, but that didn't stop him from saying why.

"It's weird," he admitted. "No one in my family has hair like mine." Kairi was waiting for him to say more, but when he didn't, she frowned.

"So?"

"It's...abnormal?"

"Well, I think it looks cool." Kairi hadn't really thought about what she was saying, but it was the honest truth. When she first saw him at her NDE, the first thought she actually had was that he looked...

 _Handsome._

Sora blinked before chuckling.

"Sure."

"Well," Kairi took a hand out, "We're both comrades of messed up love." Sora looked at her hand in amusement before taking it.

"Highly doubt that it's something to rejoice over, but okay."

"Relationships suck!" Sora pulled his hand away and put them back into his pocket while he gave her an amused look.

"What got you all emotional yesterday? It was quite the sight," he said with a smirk, not wanting to talk about himself anymore. "Though, I'm not intending to relive bad memories here, so-" Kairi waved the matter off as no big deal, but deep inside, that it was far from that.

"Just saw a post on Facebook that really ticked me off."

"Figures, since you spammed comments on his post." In less than a second, her heart rate sped up like crazy as she let his words sink in.

"I did _what_?" Kairi scrambled for the phone in her pocket and unlocked it, anxiety coursing through her veins like hot water and hands trembling like an earthquake. "No fucking way, oh no, oh no, oh no." Just when she was about to open the app to check if the horror was true, Sora erupted into laughter and placed a hand over her phone to settle it back down to the table.

"Stop, I'm just kidding," he wheezed. When he saw the horrified look on her face, he only laughed harder. "Oh my God, I'm sorry; that was a bad joke, but your expression was _priceless._ Comedy gold material." Kairi punched him in the shoulder, causing him to double over across the table bench.

"You're such an asshole, what the hell. I take back every nice thing I said about you," she hissed. Sora sat back upright and, with a finger, wiped a stray tear.

"Hey, I don't think you should be saying that to your savior."

"And what exactly are you talking about?" He tapped on her phone with a finger and let out a snort of laughter again.

"While you were dead ass drunk, you were about to go rage on SNS until I stopped you. Don't you remember that?" Kairi paled.

"Really?"

"I might be an asshole, but I'm not a liar." She shuddered.

"Parties are scary."

"Watching you dance is scary."

"Shut up." Sora stuck out his tongue as his eyes twinkled with amusement, which made Kairi smile a closed-mouthed smile as well. However, her mind backtracked by a step the moment a thought hit her. Seeing no harm to it, she bluntly voiced it out.

"Why are we talking as if we're buddies?" Sora looked at her quizzically before shrugging playfully.

"Maybe we were never meant to be enemies," he quipped. "Now that you've mentioned it, we _have_ been encountering each other too often. In a somewhat friendly way too." Kairi snorted.

"Friendly? If this," she pointed a finger between herself and Sora, "is what you call friendly, then you might want to get your eyes, and probably your mental state too, checked. Just giving you some advice, pal."

"Ooo, you're calling me 'pal' now. I think I'm feeling an upgrade here." Kairi shook her head to herself in mock disappointment before cracking into a grin.

"Maybe if I didn't meet you through an NDE-"

"It should be more like 'maybe if I didn't fuck up Sora's wrist.'"

"And maybe if you weren't such an asshole to me-"

"Well, I wouldn't have been if you just kept your sassy mouth shut."

"Then I think we could've been on good terms." Sora stuffed his hands back into his jacket pockets and looked up into the sky, where twilight was beginning to settle once more onto the town.

"Well, nothing's making us be on bad terms forever," he looked at her in mock worry, "Just kidding, I take that back. Besides _you_ preventing us from being on bad terms forever, I think we could possibly get along. Possibly."

"Possibly," she played along. "Just possibly." Without another word, Sora stuck his hand out, which Kairi willingly took.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, _Kairi_ ," Sora said as he felt her hand hold his rather _tightly_ , but the moment he said that, it magically got looser. Kairi flashed him a very fake smile.

"Oh, I won't, _Sora_." The two looked at each other before entering a state of snickering.

"Hey, by the way."

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what's the greatest way to piss off your ex? As a token of this treaty between us, I'll give you some advice that Riku has been following since he got his first girl. It's quite simple." Kairi looked at him expectantly with a slightly raised brow.

"Do tell." He leaned down to make it look all secretive, but it was nothing special.

"Fight fire with fire."

"What." Sora clasped his hands together and put it behind his head as he turned around and leaned against the table.

"In the world of relationships at this age, there's always some bitterness-even if the people think they aren't bitter. Trust me, they'll be salty as fuck, especially if the break up is around like one year old."

"Aren't you sounding like a professor?" Sora clicked his tongue, obviously disappointed in Kairi for not really feeling it"

"Because there are such things called 'salt levels', you have the ability to raise them up until the person goes crazy. No, don't give me that doubtful look, _trust me._ " Kairi crossed her arms, silently telling him to continue. "Are you still friends with him on SNS?" Kairi bit her lip uncomfortably.

"I mean I guess."

"Perfect. Give me your phone." Complying, she did, though she didn't have a really good feeling. He opened the camera app, went over to Kairi's side to stand in front of her, and pointed the camera at her. Apprehension started to fill her core.

"And what exactly are you doing?" She already had an idea of what he was going to do.

"It's called showing your ex that you're doing fucking fine without him and that you're having the time of your life, that's what. Didn't you say there was some sort of photo with his current girlfriend or something?" At the mention of the post that got her all messed up last night, she was reminded of the pain, and nodded solemnly.

"But I'm not really the type of person who would just do _this_ ," she waved her hands towards her phone in his hand, "just to spite someone."

" _Pfft_ , you've managed to annoy the shit out of me at some points. What the hell do you mean you don't want to 'spite someone'? I got something to tell you, Kairi."

"What?"

"It's time to shed some of the goody two-shoes image you got going around you. Now smile super big like you've never done before."

"But I'm not, though."

" _Kairi._ "

"Okay, fine!"

 _Snap!_

And on that day, Kairi watched as Sora typed the most cringeworthy, cliche, blog-like status she had ever read and posted it on her account along with the picture of her.

"You'll thank me later."

"I'm so tempted to just delete this right now," Kairi said in a dead voice as she accepted her phone back. She looked at the post and sighed before laughing.

 _Twilight Town has been so amazing for the past few weeks I've arrived here! It's big and gigantic, and I swear I saw the top model Squall Leonhart walking by the streets! I've been able to make new friends too, and I already love them all :) There are so many other things, but I would be writing a book if explained all of it, so I won't!_

 _Besides all the new stuff I've experienced here, nothing beats the sunset here; the same, beautiful sunset I'm used to seeing. Twilight sure is pretty in Twilight Town, isn't it? Can't wait for for more to come! Peace out. Sincerely, your typical redhead._

"By the way, I have a huge stack of homework for you."

"You jerk, you just said earlier that I was 'dismissed' from my duty."

"I lied."

 **Phew! Finally finished this chapter. Didn't expect myself to actually spend one week on this chapter. M-A-J-O-R writer's block this week for some reason. Writing this chapter was so difficult omg I would just stare at the screen and try to figure out how to transition it and put plot in and omg nOOoOoO This chapter is *stabs own heart* but it's long and maybe it was cool for you guys to read! Hopefully, I won't have the same problem for the next chapter, but ugh yes I'm finally done. hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

Riku stared into his calculus textbook with such animosity that everyone that was sitting in the same table as him in the library gradually went away to escape the deathly aura around him. With pencil in hand and lead pressed on the still-empty paper, he wondered if he'll ever get out of this library by midnight.

The library doesn't close for him until midnight.

"Leonhart, you fucking troll," he cursed as he leaned the side of his head against a hand. All he did was throw a paper note at Axel _in response_ to his own obnoxious notes that was thrown across the classroom during calculus, but of course, all the blame rests on him for "responding back."

Looking back at the problem that he could not solve for the last ten minutes, Riku could finally start to feel the train of concentration start rolling its wheels in his head after his mind magically started to connect the pieces together for the complicated problem.

However, such a dream was impossible.

Behind the bookcase he was facing, two idiots were making a lot of noise in the library as the sound of books clattered messily upon the floor.

"Stop dropping the books," the voice chided in a very sarcastic tone. If he was the person receiving such attitude, he would rip the guy up-he had enough of Sora's every day. Through the crevices of the bookshelf, Riku observed the movement of someone bending down to pick them up.

"Well, I wouldn't be if you just stopped stacking them up like Jenga blocks!" the person hissed back. When the two people emerged from the bookshelves, Riku didn't expect it to be Sora and Kairi.

"Wait, stop, stop," Sora whispered in chuckles. Kairi was slapping the edge of a thin book on his arm in annoyance as he walked faster to avoid her bombardments.

"Why should I?"

"'Cause you're making the librarian give us death glares, Sherlock." Kairi looked to her left and finally noticed the librarian throwing daggers with her eyes at them before smiling apologetically. Sora turned around and leaned against the window sill of the library with both hands gripping the bottom, which Kairi thought was scary since the library was on the second story. He still did not notice Riku-and Riku didn't want him to either, or else he would get nothing done.

"Have fun for the afternoon," Sora said in a sickeningly sweet way. For emphasis, he patted the pile of books in her arms and gave her a thumbs up. "I know you'll do a good job. Happy, clean notes, alright?"

"Oh, they'll be clean alright," Kairi muttered as she walked away from him. Sora gave a happy wave good bye before heading out towards the exit of the library, leaving Kairi alone to do the last thing she'll do as his right-hand man. His wrist was, quote Sora, "ninety-nine percent complete" and that the "last one percent" would be restored by her doing his homework he had procrastinated on since the last week and a half. She had to bite her tongue and accept the task if she wanted this burden to get lifted off her shoulders.

As she looked around for a table to sit at, a look of recognition passed her face as she made eye contact with Riku, who had been looking at her in curiosity. She flashed him a smile, which he had never seen before. Of course, he had only seen her with Sora, and she never was all smiley-smiley around him.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?" she asked. Riku shook his head and held a hand towards the chair.

"Yes-I mean no! No, I don't mind." Kairi gave him an amused look at his little speech mishap before setting herself down along with the cursed books. When she took the first book off the stack Sora had a little bit too much fun stacking within her hands, Riku took that as a signal that social chatting was over.

Which was good, since he needed to finish this damn punishment homework if he wanted to get sleep tonight.

After a good ten minutes, Kairi was the one who broke the ice again when she noticed Riku tapping his pencil on his paper rather furiously as his eyes strained to read the problem for the nth time.

"Are you okay?" she asked, noticing all the erased marks on his paper. Riku looked up to see her purple-tinted eyes observing him worriedly. He ran a hand through his hair, realizing how _not-cool_ he must've looked as his mental stability started to gradually wear away.

He hated math _so much._

"Leonhart's punishment," was all he said, and that was enough for Kairi to understand what he was talking about.

"To be honest, I think Axel should get more of the punishment, and I'm saying this because of one of his annoying notes actually hit me in the head before," Kairi complained with a roll of her eyes.

"Right?" Riku agreed. "But apparently Leonhart had given up on Axel a long time ago, so he decks out on me." Riku shot an eyebrow up when a suddenly-confused look crossed her features.

"Wait..." Kairi frowned. "Wait, Leonhart..."

"Yes?"

"Wait, what's his first name?"

"Uh, Squall. Why?"

"Is he a model?" Riku chuckled before nodding, causing Kairi to widen her eyes. Riku took out his phone and scrolled through a few things before showing Kairi the contents: pictures of Leonhart with his modeling career.

"Whoa, holy moly," Kairi voiced out before blinking rapidly at the photos. "I thought he was a bit too... _hot_ to be just a teacher. Math teacher too?"

"Twilight University for you," Riku explained. "Leonhart likes to keep his modeling life private, so that's why we don't really know _too_ much. Unfortunately, he does a horrible job at it since he's a buzz around here."

"I'm surprised I haven't heard about it!" She thought Sora just pulled that random name out of nowhere on her fake-ass status.

"Well, you learn something new every day." Riku smiled a small smile of amusement as Kairi continued to scroll down to look at all the pictures-teacher Leonhart and model Leonhart were so different.

"Think he'll let me take a picture with him?"

"Why not?" Kairi laughed as she handed his phone back to Riku. She then returned back to the matter at hand and tapped a finger on his textbook.

"Having troubles?"

"No, I'm doing perfectly fine since I'm a math god and all- _yes,_ I can't stand this shit anymore." Riku clutched the sides of his head with both hands as he stared holes into his paper. Kairi looked between her task and his homework, contemplating which to do, before sliding the books to the side and turning the book towards her direction more so that she could read it. Riku frowned. "Don't you have something else to do?"

"Sora can wait," she stated plainly as she read the problem he was stuck on. As she did so, Riku realized the fact that him and Kairi never did interact normally, and that this was the first time they had a normal conversation. After throwing flirty compliments at her-like he always did whenever he saw a very pretty girl-a revelation dawned on him that Kairi did not appreciate it _at all_.

Of course, he noticed the way a look of very subtle disgust passed by her face whenever he called her cute; that's why he never really talked to her again. _Wouldn't want her impression of me to go even more rotten._

"Leonhart's heartless," he heard her chuckle, breaking him away from his thoughts. She took his pencil and scribbled a few things on his scrap paper before rotating it and letting him see her work. Immediately, a question mark popped above his head.

"I never saw these hieroglyphics before."

"Exactly. They're application problems we never went over before. Leonhart assigned them just for you." Riku shot her a quizzical look.

"Then how come you know it?" he leaned in closer jokingly, "Don't tell me you're a secret math mathematician doing some underground work, are you?" Kairi shook her head to humor him and pushed all of his materials back to his side of the table.

"It's called having a sister fangirling over new mathematical methods that blows her mind all the time." Riku winced, as if such a fact inflicted real damage on him.

"Someone like that exists?"

"I asked her the same question." Riku shook his head, mind unable to comprehend such a feat before examining the work Kairi did.

"Looks complex, but I'll somehow figure it out. Thanks."

"No problem."

It was nearly nightfall when both were finished with everything they needed to do. Riku was enthusiastic to shove his textbook into his bag, happy to give his eyes a rest from seeing the cursed thing while Kairi joyously put all of the history books she had to take notes on back to their original places.

It was a long and strenuous battle, but it was worth it-she was free!

"I feel like doing the jig, but everyone's going to look at me weird if I do," Kairi commentated as she skipped excitedly out the library to embrace the night sky. "I love the taste of freedom after a month and a half of slavery!" Riku observed her little victory dance; she was more _hyper_ than he thought she was.

"Is Sora that bad?" Kairi shuddered at the name before making an X with her arms.

"He takes every opportunity to make me regret meeting him way back then," she ranted. "Have you seen the load of homework he throws at me? Ugh, I swear, if he gives me one more book, I will shove it down his pants and-"

"I think we're getting a little bit violent here." Kairi smiled sheepishly when she noticed Riku's bizarre, yet entertained, look.

"Sorry, I'm just too happy right now." As the two walked out the library and towards the dorms, Riku checked his watch and contemplated whether or not he should go out to eat. Dinner had already passed, much to both of their dismay, but that wasn't going to stop him from getting a meal. He looked over at Kairi, who was coincidentally patting her stomach as well in hunger.

 _Would she be weirded out if I asked her?_

For some reason, whenever he talked to her (which was only a couple of times), Kairi had some sort of _aura_ around her-an aura that blared red warning lights that if he did any sort of flirting with her, he would be rocketed into the sky in less than a split second.

And for some odd reason...

She felt untouchable, as if her heart was not really there to grab a hold of.

Riku did a mental slap. _Dude, you're getting way too philosophical here;_ he was beginning to creep himself out. Erasing the weird thoughts from his head, he decided that it was nothing to actually have a debate about.

"Yo, Kairi," she looked over at him, "Feel like grabbing a bi-"

"Whoa, Riku?" Riku didn't get to ask his question before a voice behind them interrupted him. Turning around, he saw Sora with keys in hand and a paper bag of food in the other. He tilted his head slightly, causing his spikes to bounce a bit, as he looked between Kairi and Riku before cracking into a grin. "Wow, my two most favorite people in the whole wide world in one spot. How delightful."

"If I'm your favorite person, than mine must be Hades," Kairi said as she cringed at Sora's fake-friendly talk. Sora rolled his eyes.

"I'm obviously not talking about you. I'm talking about Riku and invisible Axel that's standing right next to him. You just can't see him, although..." Sora swung an arm around Kairi's shoulders, which freaked the major hell out of Riku. _Who is this man who is casually talking to a girl other than Selphie and Xion?_ "You can be my third favorite person in the whole, wide wor-"

"Ahem, no thanks," Kairi ducked under and slipped away from his hold before grabbing the bag from his hand and looking inside it in delight.

"Um, excuse me? Who said you could take that?"

"I could smell my name written all over it. Thanks," she grinned sweetly, "Oh, and here," she rummaged through her bag and slapped a notebook in his hands, "Because it's my last day, I wrote your happy, clean notes. I made it pretty too." In Sora's Kairi-translating dictionary, that did not sound good at all. Flipping through the pages, he grinded his teeth slightly in agitation when he saw what she meant.

Cursive.

"Yeah, it looks pretty." Kairi giggled as she popped a fry in her mouth.

"Right?"

"Too bad I can't fucking read any of this." Based on Kairi's expression, she had already knew that. Sora chuckled darkly before closing it shut and tapping it on his shoulder. "Watch out, Kailey. Just you watch out." Kairi stuck her tongue out at him before skipping away towards the girl's dormitory, food and all in her hands. Riku looked at her shrinking figure in confusion.

"Dude, she just snatched your food away like a runaway raccoon."

"Yeah, I know," Riku blinked, "It was for her anyways, since she probably skipped dinner." _And what is that suppose to mean?_ Sora glanced at the time at his phone and jerked a thumb towards his car in the parking lot. "You look hungry. Since you're here, want to grab a bite with me?"

"Well, I was about to possibly go eat with a female until you came along." Sora widened his eyes slightly in guilt before shaking his head.

"Never mind then, sorry, du-" he got cut off as Riku grabbed Sora into a headlock. "I will cut you if you don't let me g-"

"I'm just kidding, man. What place do you have in mind?"

~.~.~

"If I'm correct, I only invited Riku," Sora said between clenched teeth. He tried not to flip a plate onto Axel's face when a piece of meat was flung at his direction, almost hitting him square in the face. Hayner and Axel guffawed like dying hyenas as they played with the meat on the grill with their chopsticks while Riku was the only normal one actually grilling the meat on the circular metal plate in the middle of the table the way they were supposed to. "This isn't the time to play meat soccer!"

"Yo, you invite Riku, you invite the whole gang!" Axel shouted over the loud buzz of conversations sounding throughout the BBQ house. "Can't miss out on this!" Sora glared at Riku, who guiltily chewed on a piece of beef.

"I swear I didn't invite them. I just said where we were going to eat."

"That's literally the same thing!" Sora placed a hand over his forehead as his other waved in reluctant defeat. Hayner's and Axel's eyes brightened. "You two idiots are already here. Knock yourself out." Hayner and Axel cheered in victory by chugging a glass of root beer together. Sora deeply questioned how he even met these two meatheads.

"The only person I don't feel bad leeching moola off of is Sora, since he's so freaking loaded," Hayner admitted. "But of course, I'm your friend because I'm you friend!"

"How convincing." Sora moved away from Axel when he started to talk with his mouth full. Under the dim light above them, he could see it small pieces just flinging out of his mouth as he talked. "Axel, you're disgusting."

"You haven't seen my true form-"

"I have, and I don't _ever_ want to see it again."

"-but anyway. Some tense shit is happening right now, and I don't want to be part of it." Riku frowned.

"What happened?" Axel pursed his lips and fleetingly darted his eyes towards Sora. Hayner and Riku understood the message; it was something the three agreed to do whenever the subject they were about to talk about involved certain people. With this foolproof, super-duper, secretive gesture, Sora could never-

"You know, if you three think that I have never noticed the secret, romantic looks you guys give each other from time to time, you're so wrong." All three gulped.

"Well, shit." Sora flipped a piece of pork on the grill and took a rib.

"Say whatever you want to say. I think I'm a little bit too old now to throw immature tantrums." Noticing how harsh and cold he sounded, Sora immediately flashed his carefree smile to ease his friends, who were starting to grow uncomfortable. "Really." Axel sighed and sadly stuffed more meat into his mouth. "But please chew, Axel."

"Xion's been super sad about something, and Roxas has been rather _distant_ this whole entire week. I have no idea why," Axel spilled, looking over at Sora. Surprisingly, his expression remained unchanged as he continued eating. "So that's why I don't want to be anywhere near there."

"That's strange," Riku commented, rubbing his chin with a finger. "Really?"

"Yup. I know Roxas's empty smile when I see it."

"They'll probably get over it soon." All three looked at Sora in surprise; he rarely put input on this subject. "It's probably 'cause of me. They'll get over it soon."

"Wait, wait, hold on. What happened?" Sora put down his chopsticks and grasped the chain of his crown necklace, something he did whenever his hands sought to hold on to something.

"Long story short, I went to this dog cafe with Xion and, not-coincidentally, Roxas was there. And I guess you guys can figure out what happened next." Hayner made a face.

"That sounds so stalker-ish."

"Because it probably was." Sora sighed before shrugging. "I've been ignoring her for the past week too. I guess I should apologize to her to somehow make things better again, shouldn't I?" Instantly, Riku shook his head and grasped Sora by the upper arm, alarming Sora greatly.

"Sora, I know I've said this before, and you're probably going to sock another one at me for saying it again," Sora narrowed his eyes at him, "But you _have_ to stop hanging around Xion." Axel and Hayner stopped fooling around with the meat when they felt the sudden-tense atmosphere encompassing the whole table. Only the sounds of the chatters of the people around them and the sizzling on the grill were heard between them.

"Riku..." Axel trailed off.

"She's taking advantage of you, can't you see?" Sora roughly shrugged Riku off, but that didn't stop him. "Why are you so blind about her? She only got close to you in high school for Roxas, dated you for Roxas, and left you for Roxas! Why are you letting yourself-"

"Jesus christ, Riku, I fucking know already! You don't have to tell me fucking twice, thrice, four times, seven times, or one-hundred times!" Sora burst a little bit too loud as he attracted attention from the three tables of people that surrounded them. Riku was about to say more, but Axel really stopped him by giving him a glare and signaling him to cut it out by waving a hand at his neck.

"Stop," he mouthed. Riku, conflicted, looked between the demanding Axel and furious Sora. Before he could make a decision, Sora made _his_ decision and stood up from the table. Opening his wallet and fishing out a few bills, he slapped it on the table.

"Sora-"

"You guys can continue eating." He stuffed his wallet back into his pocket and took out his keys. Before he could stomp off, Riku grabbed him by the arm.

"Wait, Sora, I'm sorr-"

"I just need to cool my head," Sora smiled weakly, "Nothing's your fault, so you don't have to apologize for anything." Sora took his arm back and, without another word, walked out the BBQ house.

Riku slunk back into his seat and let out a frustrated groan while Hayner and Axel went on a rampage to save the burning food.

"I always screw things up as a best friend, don't I?" Axel pursed his lips as he cleaned everything up.

"You don't. Sora's just too hard on himself."

~.~.~

"Ew, he hooked up with _this_ girl?" Namine stared at the phone screen with pure disgust at the post that made Kairi go crazy. Kairi nodded grimly as a hand clutched her forehead. Currently, they were chilling in Namine's dorm with Selphie out for the weekend to attend some sort of cat-convention.

"Same girl I caught him making out with during a party that I wasn't supposed to be at, but I sure fucking did."

"But you over this whore?"

"Language, Namine, language."

"I know, but _this tramp?_ " Namine shook her head disappointedly as she looked at all the likes and comments. "Yuck, and everyone supports it as if they forgot all about you!"

"I don't need them to remember me," Kairi spat bitterly. "Sucks that they don't label him as a fucking cheater. What nerve he had to do that to me!" Namine glanced at Kairi before engulfing her in a hug when she saw brimming tears at her eyes.

"Kairi, stop thinking about that jerk," Namine said with a sniff as she patted Kairi's head soothingly. "He doesn't deserve your tears."

"Yeah, I know, but it's still hard. You can't believe what I did after I saw it." Namine pulled away and narrowed her eyes.

"Now that you mention it, you never did tell me anything about that."

"Hah, funny story..."

And so, Kairi explained the whole mayhem she went through from Sora catching her crying to getting knocked out drunk at his place. Of course, she didn't tell Namine about her whining and embarrassing moments-no one else needed to know about those. When she mentioned the whole party and drinking part, a look of horror passed by Namine's face, something she fully expected.

"Kairi! Are you kidding me? No wonder you looked like you came out of a rat's nest that day!"

"Yeah, thanks."

"I feel bad for Sora. He had to go through all that just for you," Namine smiled, "But he's surprisingly a nice guy. If he was the asshole you thought he was, he would've just let you go crazy and do whatever the hell you want." Kairi sighed as she twiddled thumbs.

"I know."

"I saw your post. Was that him too?" Kairi felt a shiver run down her spine; her sister's guessing power was too strong. "Don't give me that look. I know you don't post stuff like that, and it was posted around the same time you disappeared from the dog cafe too. That's okay, though because I think it was cool." Kairi smiled before ruffling her little sister's hair affectionately.

"Thanks, Nam'. How was it after I left?" Namine made a face, which was not a good sign.

"I knew nothing about what was going on, but I do know that it was so awkward on the way back in Roxas's car with Xion replacing you and everything. They must've kept quiet for me because the moment when Roxas dropped me off, they began talking about _something_."

"I am sorry."

"It's okay, it wasn't the first time you ditched me."

"Now you're just making me feel bad on purpose." Namine laughed as she went behind Kairi and began to braid her hair.

"Do you know what happened?" Kairi was reminded of the little chat she had with Selphie and Sora and bit her bottom lip. Namine was her best gossip buddy ever in the whole, entire world, but...

She decided not to spill anything for the sake of Sora's privacy.

"Nope. I'm just as lost as you."

~.~.~

 _"I'm so sorry, Sora." Sora moved his tongue inside his mouth as he struggled to spit out the words he wanted to say. Anguish filled him._

 _But the feeling of sadness conquered all._

 _Xion looked down and slowly dug through her purse, and Sora took this short moment of time to get a good look at her-this last moment of time of being together with her._

 _Painstakingly slow, she pulled out a few thin strands of chain with colorful, small wayfinders attached at the end of each. She took Sora's hand, placed the wayfinders in it, and closed his fingers around them. He clasped it loosely, finding no energy to hold it any tighter._

 _"Thanks for today's date," she continued. It was night time, and they were both in the empty park that was a block away from her house. "I had a lot of fun."_

 _"Yeah," Sora managed to voice out. He opted out of saying anything more, for he wouldn't want his voice to horribly crack; he could already feel the waver of his voice from just one word. With his emotions array, the only thing he could process to do was to look at the guilt adorned in her expression and wonder if this was actually happening._

 _"We can still be friends?"_

 _"Of course." Sora didn't hesitate to spit those words out._

 _Because it meant that she would still be in his life._

Sora snapped out of his daydream when a football whizzed over his head. Turning around, he gave the annoying freshmen a glare for almost giving him a potential concussion before turning around back in his seat in the outdoor lunch table.

Currently, he was sitting at a table by himself during lunch hour, not at all feeling the loneliness of it all. After his little dispute with Riku, he refused to talk to him unless the silver-haired boy came up with a valid apology. Call him petty, but that was how things have been rolling ever since they met. Whenever Riku pissed him off, _he_ would be the one to break the ice. Axel and Hayner and everyone else who could feel his pissed-off mood were wise enough not to bother the brunet whenever he was upset, especially when it revolved around a certain someone. While others needed comfort from others, Sora was fine by himself-he liked solitude.

Because he was so used to it.

"I detect a very depressed loser head in the area. _Beep, beep!_ " At the sound of the voice, Sora smiled a little bit before turning around. Of course, he wiped it off his face when he made eye contact with those purple-tinted eyes he always found oddly pretty to look at.

No special feelings about these thoughts, however.

"Hello, Chicken-Clutzy, nice to see you too." He fought to keep his face passive, but it took all he could not to smirk when her eye twitched.

The nickname had come one day when they were on the way home when they decided to get some to-go chicken katsu through drive through. Obviously, still being his slave during the time, she had to pay for everything. Just when she thought he was being a gentleman and taking her out to eat, such an idea was wiped away when she found herself paying since she was "closer to the window."

Long story short, she nearly dropped the box if not for the speedy hand of the cashier that saved the day.

"Shut up." Nonetheless, she took a seat across from him, earning a quizzical look from him. He had expected her to avoid his butt the moment his wrist was healed, but she surprised him once again by actually trying to be _friends_ after all the teasing and mocking he did to her.

 _Odd._

"What graces me with your presence, Princess?"

"Not your stupid nicknames, that's for sure." She didn't look up at him as she scrolled through her phone for something. He waited patiently for whatever she obviously was trying to show him and frowned when she showed him a post that was of a picture of a guy and girl he had never seen before hugging each other a little bit _too_ much.

"Vanitas?" he said questionably as he read who the poster was, very confused why he was seeing a picture of this guy.

"My ex-boyfriend." _Oh._ Sora warily casted an eye at Kairi again and saw what he expected to see.

Hurt.

Kairi sighed as she rubbed a hand over her forehead. On a normal day without any mention of the guy who broke her heart, she was fine-she could even say she was happy too. Though there would always be some burden on her shoulders that always bothered her, her apparent happiness usually made her mind not heed it that much.

However, such an illusion always broke whenever she saw something like this on social media. She really should block him, delete him, do _whatever_ to get him out of her life completely, but...

It was hard to just erase someone from your life within a snap of a finger.

"You know," she started bitterly, "Ever since you posted that picture of me, he seemed to post about his girlfriend a _lot_ more than usual." Sora bit the bottom of his lip; it came to him that he actually made matters worse. Based on the looks and appearance of the guy, he would've never thought that _this_ type of guy would be her boyfriend _ever_.

Kairi was too...innocent looking for him despite the barky mouth she always had.

"I should really block his ass, but-"

"It's hard, I know." Kairi's ears perked up as she took in his comment. Judging by the look on his face, he hadn't meant to include personal feelings into it. Sora gave her phone back and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. He hesitated for a second before voicing his thought out.

"I don't really mind or anything, but," Kairi blinked as she listened to him, "Why are you confiding this with me?" Kairi blinked once more rapidly before putting a finger to her cheek.

"That's a good question. Why do I?" Sora rolled his eyes at her lack of thought, but was once again caught off guard when she suddenly smiled at him, and that was when he realized a crucial fact.

Throw him into the abyss if he was lying, but this was legit the first time she ever willingly and genuinely smiled at him _ever._

"You're just easy to talk to. Besides, haven't we established ourselves as fellow comrades?"

"That was just you," Sora pointed out. "I don't think I ever agreed to anything." Kairi had spent enough time with Sora to know when he was joking or not-and it was pretty hard to distinguish since he was always bitingly sarcastic.

"Anyways, that's beside the point," she waved a glum finger at her phone, "What should I do?" Sora shrugged.

"I obviously dug you a hole far enough to reach the mantle of the Earth," Sora remarked, leaning an elbow against the table. Kairi groaned and placed her head onto the table with a bang, causing Sora to wince. _That looks like it hurts._

"I'm so lame," she murmured, voice muffled by the table. "I'm one of those lame girls who can't get over their exes. Kill me." Sora pursed his lips; _now_ he was uncomfortable. Girl talk was not something he had a strong forte with, even if he had experienced it way too much for his own good. Right now, clearly, Kairi was asking for advice-advice he could not give.

"Would ice cream help?" Kairi shot her head up and gave him an incredulous look.

"That is _so_ stereotypical." Sora threw his hands up jokingly.

"Spare me for not knowing what you like." Kairi placed her arm across the table and laid the side of her head on it, feeling much like a dead koala.

"I can't tell Namine all this," Kairi admitted. "I don't want her to know I'm still sad, since it's been a long time already. Gosh, just imagine what she would think if she found her sister still mulling over some dude. I don't know what to do."

"One thing you can definitely start doing is stop being depressed like a dead tree branch. Kind of ruining my lunch here, pal." Kairi never thought she would laugh at his mean comments, and neither did he.

"Is your offer of ice cream still available?"

"I thought that was too mediocre."

"Well, I want to go to a party too. Want to take me to one?"

"Well then, what flavor do you like?"

Afterschool, he found himself watching a redhead gulp down a carton of sea-salt ice cream on a table near the garden where he destroyed the dean's paopu fruit as he sipped on his drink. He didn't feel anymore fear about going near it, since he doubted anyone would ever find out who the perpetrator was.

"Hey, by the way, I know you're the one who killed the dean's paopu fruit." Sora nearly spat out his drink and coughed violently while Kairi looked at him smugly. "Rad soccer skills you showed there."

"How the fuck do you know?" Kairi laughed.

"I was the other person behind the fence that witnessed the whole thing." Sora paled before pointing at the ice cream carton.

"I went out of my way to not only console you, but also bought you-" Kairi waved a hand to get him to shut up.

"I'm not that mean. Well," Kairi placed a finger on her chin, "If you had pissed me off to the point of no return during our first few meetings, I would've done something, but you didn't, so consider yourself lucky." Sora eyed her suspiciously. Nevertheless, he trusted her words and calmed himself down. He won't be confronting the dean anytime soon. "Do you know what the paopu fruit is though?"

"It's a fruit that you can eat." Kairi rolled her eyes.

"That's obviously not what I'm freaking asking. I don't need a brain to know that."

"...I'm not too sure about that." Kairi kicked him underneath the table, earning a chuckle from him.

"I meant what it means and stuff. Xio-one of my friends told me about the whole lore about it, which I find kind of interesting." Kairi managed to do a quick save and hoped that Sora wouldn't catch her little speech mishap, but he showed no indication if he did or not.

"Oh, the fate stuff?" Kairi nodded. Sora shrugged. "I'm not really a believer of that stuff, but for all the romantics out there, sure."

"You don't believe in fate?" she asked teasingly. "Concept not to your liking?"

"Not exactly my cup of tea, no." He pulled at his straw and pushed it back in. "I like to think that things happen strictly for a reason. None of that fantasy-like stuff that comes from those fairytales." Kairi feigned a yawn to specifically spite him.

"Boring." Sora glared at her. "I wouldn't want you as my lover, since you seem so unromantic." Kairi had no idea why she said that, but she could already feel the conversation turning towards somewhere she didn't want it to turn to.

Sora stopped sipping on his drink and looked at her.

"What's your definition of 'romantic'? Now I'm kind of curious." Sora placed a hand under his chin as he leaned his elbow on the table, giving her an amused yet somehow serious look. "Do tell, Ms. Expert-On-Fate. Enlighten me." Kairi fidgeted in her seat, feeling extremely uncomfortable at his gaze; it was one he never gave her before, and it was very...

Cold.

"Um," was the only thing she said. Before she could say anything, he continued on.

"What activities make people a romantic, hm?" he continued to pull his straw in and out of his cup as he bore his eyes through hers. "Being nice? Buying flowers? Well, there are many definitions, since people have so many different meaning towards it. Which one really is the right one for fickle girls?" The way he was talking seemed as if he was _belittling_ her, as if he was actually _insulting_ her, but she tried not to believe that he was. _Is he still joking around?_

However, the next thing he said really hit it hard.

"Was you ex-boyfriend ever a romantic? Or did it not work out because he was an unromantic? Not satisfied?" Kairi was too affected by his words to realize that he was no longer exactly talking about her. "Or-"

He stopped when she suddenly stood up, knocking her carton of ice cream over on the ground in the process. When he saw the tears pricking at her eyes as she looked at him in fury, he finally realized what he had done. Instantly, guilt washed over him. When she turned around and stalked off without another word, he quickly got up from his table and was about to run after her if not for the janitor giving him the evil eye about his drink and spilled ice cream carton on the floor. With haste, he dumped everything in the trash and made it near the front of the university entrance.

"Kairi, wait." He grabbed her upper arm to stop her, but she merely ripped herself away from him. She turned around indignantly and wiped her tears at the back of her hand, causing him to feel worse.

"That was too much, Sora," she said angrily. "I don't know what I said to tick you off-just kidding, I do-but that was too much." Sora bit his tongue as a form of self-punishment. _Way to vent your anger._ Usually, he would notice and note the stares he would get whenever he was in this predicament, but for the first time in a while, he could care less.

"It wasn't directed towards you." She stared at him with an empty look.

"That really doesn't make sense." He rethought about all of his actions and kicked himself mentally-it really didn't. "For some reason, I feel more like an idiot-I feel humiliated. Thanks."

"Kairi, I'm sor-" He wasn't able to finish his sentence when his phone suddenly rang in his pocket. Kairi took that as her signal to turn around and stalk away once more, leaving him to attend to his phone. He checked the caller ID and tried not to throw his phone on the ground in frustration.

 _Roxas Hikari._

 _What is this timing?_

Over at the distance, Riku and Axel were hiding from a large tree trunk, having witnessed the whole entire scene after coming back from eating out. Axel gulped.

"I don't think we were supposed to see that."

"Me neither."

 **Voila! Here is chapter 8! Huge writer's block attacked me again ToT I actually had half of this chapter done around Tuesday, but I wasn't able to continue and brainstorm because I had sooooo much hw to do :((((**

 **Anyways, thank you mah readers for continuing to read/support this story ^o^ I hope it's not downgrading in quality! Reviews will make my soul happy :)))))**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! peace out, it's late night at night and i stayed up just to update for y'all who are waiting omg i'm out tim eot sleep**


	9. Chapter 9

Kairi watched as Xion did her homework by the desk by her side. With the lamp on the desk the only light source lighting the room, Kairi had a hard time sleeping-she needed all lights to be off if she wanted easy sleep. After dorming with Xion for a while, she realized that she was a very bad procrastinator, always stuffing homework at the last minute and not only making herself lose sleep, but Kairi as well.

"Xion," Kairi grumbled softly, "are you going to be done anytime soon?" Xion swiveled in her chair and looked over at the lump that was Kairi. "It's almost two in the morning."

"Sorry, Kairi," Xion said sheepishly. "I'll try to quicken things up." _That doesn't answer my question._ Xion turned back towards her desk, and Kairi tried not to sigh out loud.

Ever since the incident in the dog cafe, Kairi felt unnatural around Xion. Xion probably felt the same way, since her speech was more forced now too. She hadn't said anything about the whole thing either, which made Kairi feel much more at unease.

Thinking about the problem at hand, her thoughts landed on Sora, and her mood became sour-almost as sour as the first few times she met him. She was still on strike after he blasted her; to hell if she was going to speak to him first. _He_ had to apologize to her first, or he could kiss her existence good bye.

She then sighed into her blankets.

 _He wouldn't really care anyway._

And then she blinked and frowned.

 _What the hell, why do I even care?_ She gave her pillow a few punches to soften it up before wrapping herself inside her burrito blanket again. _Who cares about a jerk?_

The next morning, she made it her duty to escape from their dorm first to go to class, for the longer she was in Xion's presence, the more her levels of comfort in her own dang dorm exponentially decreased. Sometimes, for some odd reason, she would catch Xion boring her eyes into her, only to quickly put up her usual, hyper smile when she realized Kairi caught her. The first time, Kairi shrugged off as a coincidence, but the next few times told her it was not that simple of a reason.

Kairi wasn't dumb.

 _My enemy list is slowly growing bigger and bigger._

And she did not know exactly why.

As she walked through the hallways, she couldn't help but notice the annoying gang of delinquent-looking guys from the distance that always preferred throwing their football inside the hallways of the school. Why they couldn't take it outside, Kairi had no clue.

She opened her locker and stuffed her books inside, slightly worrying about her calculus quiz that was coming up next period. Even though Namine had run her through the whole thing two nights before, there was only so much she could cram at midnight through Skype; math was and will never be her forte, period.

"A long one, right here!" a voice shouted loudly from her left. "Your throws have been weak as fuck!" Kairi slammed her locker shut and sighed in annoyance. _Grow up already._ She was about to turn around to head towards the opposite direction and walk the long way towards her calculus class to avoid the ruckus (and she had a _lot_ of time to spare as well), but she noticed that ever since she arrived at this new city and campus, things never seem to go quite her way.

"Too high, you motherfucker, too high!"

The urgent voice was enough to alarm her, but what made her heart really jump up her throat was the sudden arm that she saw at the corner of her eye shoot out behind her and pull her its owner, her forehead bumping into a chest. A split second later, an ear-splitting crash resonated right next to her as the football slammed itself into the lockers.

"Seifer, go pull your head out of your ass for once and start thinking straight," Sora's familiar voice sounded in her ear. "Please do the world a simple favor, _please_." Kairi looked up and felt herself grow extremely warm-which she deeply, deeply questioned-as she felt his hand gently holding the back of her head as all his attention was focused on the idiot who almost gave her a black out.

"Fuck you, Hikari," Seifer cursed as he flipped Sora the bird before he grudgingly took his football off the ground. "Remember who flushed your phone down the toilet. Watch out." When Seifer glanced at Kairi, Sora instinctively pulled her behind him and narrowed his eyes at Seifer.

"Don't forget who saw your ex-girlfriend giving you a nice bitch slap at the end of high school graduation," Sora retorted back, causing Seifer to pale. "Wouldn't want to accidentally post a video or anything, if you know what I mean."

"Go suck a whale's dick." And with that, Seifer stormed off with his whole gang, much to the relief of Kairi.

Sora sighed and shouldered his bag. Dealing with Seifer never brought any light to his day, since he was pure cancer.

When he realized that he was still holding on to Kairi's arm, he instantly let go (a little bit too quickly, Kairi noticed) and stuffed his hands back into his pockets. Kairi gave him a grateful look and opened her mouth to say her thanks, but when she remembered her certain strike against him, she closed it and frowned slightly at him. When he shot her a quizzical look with a raised eyebrow, it took him a few seconds to realize that she was giving him the silent treatment. In return, he merely stared back at her to humor her-after all, he had a lot of time to kill too before the bell rang.

Kairi was very competitive. It was in her blood-it was her _nature._ She wasn't athletic for no reason. Call it immature, but she really, _really_ hated losing, and she almost did anything in her power to win what she thought she could win (which was everything).

This included the silent challenge Sora gave her as he participated in her little staring contest. She knew he wasn't taking her seriously, especially when the corner of his lip twitched upward slightly. It really began to piss her off when she knew that _he_ knew that he was winning. She could feel a blush spread through her features from both embarrassment and...something.

Deep down, she noticed a _weird_ feeling residing in the pit of her stomach as he continued to look right at her with his bright blue eyes. However, she quickly erased the thoughts and focused at the matter at hand.

 _Asshole._

He didn't even look sorry.

"I dislike you."

"Huh?"

The bell rang.

Kairi huffed a breath and turned on her heels, not leaving Sora a chance to say what he wanted before turning the corner and disappearing.

"Damn it," Sora sighed before stuffing a hand in his pocket and checking his watch with the other. He let his arm down and looked at the corner where Kairi disappeared. He sighed again.

 _Guess I'll try to apologize to her later._

After two weeks of her absence, he kind of missed her clumsy self.

~.~.~

Kairi now knew the reason why Sephiroth had let them have a free period to discuss with the other teachers that one day as she stood shivering in her one-piece swimsuit. Other girls who stood with her in line for the diving board felt the same, excruciating pain, and she wondered who in this great land of Earth actually _volunteered_ to swim _in the middle of winter_?

Apparently, that was the sole reason Sephiroth existed.

"I have a cold right now," she heard a girl sniffle by the side as she huddled with her group of friends. She let out a nasty sneeze, causing Kairi to wince slightly. "But he wouldn't let me out on this one!"

"Really? What the hell?"

"He said this would boost my immune system stronger if I just fought against the cold."

Sometimes, Kairi wondered if some of the things he forced them to do were legal or not.

"Alright, enough of the chitter-chatter!" Kairi startled as Sephiroth began to hit his wooden stick of death on a metal pole. "Let's not begin laps on our first day of the unit." Selphie, who was right next to her, shivered in fear at the mention of laps.

"I've seen all this from the sidelines thinking I'll never be a victim," she said ghastly, rubbing her arms in hopes of warming them up. She let out a sigh, letting a huge puff of warm air mingle with the coldness. "You didn't know what I did to replenish my life energy, Kairi, when I saw his name on my schedule."

"Yeah?"

"Shopping spree, shopping spree, shopping spree. I would love to go on one right now, actually." Kairi forced out a small laugh, reluctantly remembering the day she stepped in her room for the first time. Although, the more she spent time with Selphie during PE-which wasn't hard since she started to hang around Kairi after their small talks here and there-the more she found out that she actually wasn't _that_ bad.

Of course, not when she was in her super crazy killing mode.

"Hey, is this pool even heated?" Selphie went over to the edge and dipped a toe in, only to retract it in an instant. "Barely!"

"At least it's something," Kairi said, "Don't be so loud or else he'll actually turn it off to make us more miserable." Selphie whimpered but sadly nodded. Teeth loudly chattering as fast as a jack hammer, Selphie stood with a hunchback as she tried to preserve all the warmth she could get. Kairi's posture was more refined as she stood straight and normal, but the cold didn't bite her any less.

"Hot boy alert, ready to jump off the board with dripping sexiness," Selphie whistled as she pointed a discreet finger towards the other side of the pool. Kairi furrowed her eyebrows and looked over to see the line of boys who were in a more unfortunate battle with the cold. She squinted her eyes to discern who was on the board and was surprised to see that the center of many girls' attention was Roxas. "I hate Xion, but hot damn, I see why she's a fucking stalker." Kairi blinked.

"Roxas?" Selphie nodded enthusiastically.

"He is _hot._ Look at that bod', holy gazoly." Kairi gave Roxas another keen look.

 _Well, Selphie isn't wrong._ But she never really did pay any attention to Roxas's looks.

In one swift and clean dive, Roxas slipped into the water like an eel and surfaced a second later, shaking his hair out of his face. "I can't, Kairi, I can't, there's too many hot guys here. I don't regret anything." Selphie fanned herself, despite the cold. _Is she okay?_

Kairi have noticed that Selphie checked out guys a _lot._

But she had to admit: Namine wasn't wrong about the guys here.

"Oh my god, there's my boy Sora!" Selphie suddenly squealed again when Kairi was tying up her hair into a ponytail. She jabbed Kairi's side incessantly when Kairi refused to look over to see the cursed face. "See the swim captain in action!"

"Swim captain?" Kairi blurted out unintentionally, little fact catching her by surprise. Selphie nodded enthusiastically and took it upon herself to reach up to the sides of Kairi's head and turn it for her.

"His dives are beautiful!" she fangirled. "I always love watching him during his meets, because he is _awesome_. He's only a second-year too and he's already captain!" Kairi blinked rapidly to erase any illusion her eyes could be playing her as she took in his _shape_ from afar.

Kairi didn't want to admit too much, but she _absolutely_ _had_ to acknowledge one teeny, tiny thing.

He was fit. _Very_ fit.

"I see," was all she offered though. Selphie was a dangerous being to say her true thoughts to.

"His movement are graceful, and elegant, and everything in the water!" Sora swung his arms in circles to warm them up as he walked to the end of the board. Jumping slightly to test the board, he took a diving position. "Watch, I swear, his dive's going to be-"

 _Splash!_

Yikes.

Kairi cringed while Selphie let the words die out in her mouth.

That sounded like it hurt. A lot.

 _That's fucking embarrassing._

"Sora, what the fuck was that!" She heard Wakku yelled before breaking into a fit of laughter. Sora surfaced the water and shook his spiky locks free from water. Selphie's excitement had died down along with the hype she put behind Sora's dives as she watched with mortification the honorable display. Kairi let out a snort of laughter as she watched Sora swim weakly back towards the gutter and haul himself back up. He clutched his stomach painfully as everyone howled around him.

"Nice belly flop, Hikari!" Kairi covered her mouth to hide her silent, escaping laughter; he looked so _ridiculous._ He was wet, cold, and in pain.

A great combination.

"Sora Hikari!" Sephiroth barked. "Do you mind explaining your little... _mishap_?"

"Sorry, sir, it's too col-I mean, my limbs are not quite warmed up yet." Sora knew better than to complain about the cold, for he knew Sephiroth would devise something more evil to make him regret complaining. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes before letting the matter go. Kairi rolled her eyes.

"Swim captain, huh?" Selphie licked her lips in embarrassment at Sora's failure.

"I swear he doesn't look that retarded."

"Alrighty, then."

~.~.~

"Riku, you're a dumbass."

"Fuck you, Axel."

"For saying the truth?" Riku threw whatever was closest to him that could hurt, which was his small alarm clock sitting by his desk, at Axel to shut him up. The flame-head merely deflected it with a pillow and stuck his tongue out. "I'm just trying to give you advice he-"

"Advice, my ass-"

"Hey, don't interrupt me, you imbecile."

"' _Imbecile'_?"

"What, do you like 'wimpy-as-fuck coward' better?" Riku pursed his lips and turned back towards his desk to return to his computer. Axel raised an eyebrow at the lack of response and clambered down the bed and towards Riku. "What'cha doing there, buddy?" He looked over Riku's shoulder, only to receive a hand right smack at his face.

"Go away, you're too close, weirdo," Riku hissed as he swatted him with away with a hand as he continued to click his mouse. "Sometimes I wonder if you're freaking gay or not because of your...definitions of proximity."

"Everyone knows I have the hots for Roxas, Riku, my dear." Axel joked, pulling out the rumor everyone kept throwing around. Riku stared at him.

"And you embrace those rumors?"

"Funny as hell, why not?" Riku shuddered, not able to imagine Axel and Roxas together at all, before erasing the disturbing idea from his head.

"Please don't."

Axel glanced over at the screen to see what got Riku so absorbed and frowned when he saw what it was.

"Why are you googling for shipments of sea-salt ice cream?" Riku sighed.

"My apology for Sora."

"This is why you're a dumba-I'm going to cut you if you mess up my hair," Axel backed away from Riku and crossed his arms disappointedly. "Really, man, really? Ice cream?"

"It's his favorite."

"Grow a pair and actually apologize to him instead of bribing him with things. Heck, why are you even looking up _shipments_? We don't even know his address!" Riku scratched the back of his head, as if it was the first time the thought ever occurred to him.

"Crap, you're right."

Despite being Sora's best buddies, they didn't know _where_ his apartment really was. Ever since he moved in there, he never disclosed any information about its location-only that it was a place his father owned. Riku had dropped him off once near the area, but for some strange reason, Sora had refused to be directly dropped off at his apartment.

"Think he's hiding something from us?" Axel stated with a sigh. "He gets so touchy whenever we ask if we could crash."

"That's not surprising, since no one wants your wild presence at their home anyway."

"Shut up." It was Riku's turn to sigh. It had almost been a good two weeks and a half since they last spoke with each other. Sora had no problem talking to Axel and Hayner, but he was specifically giving _him_ the cold shoulder. _'Not your fault,' my buttocks,_ Riku thought as he mentally quoted Sora's words. Though, what did he even expect?

Sora's words and his facial expressions had a hard time finding an agreement.

"How's Xion and Roxas though?" Riku asked, thoughts leading to the issue Axel was handling at the same time. Axel made a face and kicked the bed post, only to hiss in pain and clutch his foot. "Idiot."

"Roxas is too damn nice. He completely dismissed the whole Xion-stalking-episode and indirectly forgave her by not questioning anything! That's not what you do when you have a girl stalking you!"

"That girl is also one of your best friends," Riku pointed out, noticing the way Axel was regarding her as some mental maniac. Axel shook his head and pinched his eyebrows together as he sat down on Riku's bed.

"She is, but, I swear, she's getting a little bit _too_ out of hand. Everything is actually. She's all happy while everyone's feeling like dog shit."

"Happy?"

"Sora forgave her too! She was prancing around like nothing was wrong again just last week. I'm sorry, but I just wanted to whoop her head around a little bit and get it straight again," Axel heaved a huge sigh, "Do you know how it feels for me to keep jumping between two groups? Roxas is my main, but Sora's my bro too, and Xion's just killing it with her borderline-obsessed behavior, and-"

"Wait, let's pause for a second here," Riku cut in, stopping Axel's rage from reaching it's climax. "I'm confused about something, and I feel kind of dumb not knowing."

"What?"

"Does Roxas even know about Xion's feelings yet?" At this, Axel erupted into cackles, creeping Riku out immensely.

"That's the thing!"

"Yeah...?"

"He doesn't, and that's the whole freaking problem!" Axel began to make chopping gestures with his hands, "He thinks Xion's behavior is best-friend behavior because, again, he's too fucking nice! He doesn't know _anything_ about Sora and Xion except for the fact that they were together before. He doesn't know batshit that _he_ is involved in the whole thing either, from the start and the end of their relationship. If he did, this wouldn't be happening right now, he would tell Xion to fuck off, everyone would be happy, and-okay, I'm going to stop now, I think you heard this be-"

"Yeah, I have."

"At least let me finish, you chicken butt." The two of them looked at each other a bit before laughing, immediately easing the tension that was building up. Axel let out a stretched out laugh as he fell backwards into the bed. Riku rubbed the back of his neck, at lost at what to do.

This was too complicated and personal for him to do anything, despite everything Sora had done for _him._

"This sucks."

~.~.~

Namine clutched her blonde locks as she stared at the physics problem she couldn't do. The bell had rung a long time ago, and she should really start heading out before her teacher shamefully kicked her out. Every day, she questioned why she even signed up for this class when she barely understood anything. Classical mechanics! Gibberish in her head!

"I think you did this step wrong." Namine shot her head up and looked to see who the owner of the finger that was pointing at a certain part of her paper was.

Roxas Hikari. The guy who scored three points higher in their diagnostic test many months ago. Yes, she still couldn't get over it.

Namine narrowed her eyes

 _And who gave you permission to touch my paper_?

Roxas was nice and all, and she could stand witness to that, but he was her absolute enemy in the classroom

He didn't notice her intense glare as he analyzed her problem and her steps. She darted her eyes around the room, wondering where in the world he popped in from, and realized that he had stayed in class with her as well, and with the his bag strapped over his shoulder, he was preparing to leave too.

"Um," Namine let out, afraid that anything else coming from her mouth might be rude. Roxas blinked and realized what he was doing before taking a step back.

"Sorry, you just looked super frustrated."

"Excuse me?" She let out a _tch._

 _He did not just say that to me._ Not knowing what was getting her so angry and assuming that it was the problem itself, he took a chair next to him and slid it over to her desk before perching himself on it. Namine, perplexed, scooted away just by a tiny bit.

"Here," he laid out his palm, signaling for her pencil. Namine raised an eyebrow, but nevertheless handed it to him. He pressed for the lead to come out, took out a sheet of scratch paper from the flaps of his bag, and began to scribble a flurry of letters and numbers that Namine had a hard time keeping track of. She could do calculus, but she couldn't do physics.

Nope. Count her out.

"You're getting the right idea, but," he added a few finishing touches before rotating the piece of paper for her to see. "You're forgetting an essential fact here." Immediately, as she scanned the paper, there was something that got her all shook.

"Wait, where did this equation come from?" Roxas widened his eyes slightly as he blinked. He took in her confused state, as if trying to see if she was serious or not, and his throat.

"She wrote it on the board." With a finger, he pointed over to where he was referring to. Namine turned towards the direction and nearly dropped her jaw on the floor when she saw it.

"You're kidding me." Roxas laughed before smiling.

"I'm glad I'm not." Namine took up his paper and absorbed everything before slapping it on the table and running a hand through her hair.

"I literally spent thirty minutes on that."

"Yeah, I know. I watched you." Namine frowned and looked at him. He looked at her back, not knowing what was causing her to make that weird face, but it took him a second to realize how creepy his words were. He instantly shook his hands in hopes of clearing any weird conclusion she was jumping to. "No, I mean, I _saw_ you."

"Does that make it any better?"

"No, that's not what I mean. I'm-I sit right behind you, and I was here doing my homework too, and-" Namine began to zone out on his words as she watched his flustered self try to explain himself. As she did, she couldn't help but feel the small smile forming.

 _He's kind of cute._

He stopped when she suddenly burst into giggles.

"Okay, I get it, I get it. You can stop now," she laughed as she put all her pencils and notebooks away. "You're not a weird, creepy dude. I get it."

"The way you say it oddly doesn't make me feel better." He broke into a grin. "I feel like I did not get it across to you at all." He stood up and pushed the chair he stole back into its rightful desk while Namine did the same and packed her bag.

"If it didn't, you wouldn't be talking to me right now."

"Hm, you're right. I wouldn't want _that_ to happen, so." Namine turned red when she caught the meaning of his words. _Namine Lockhart, he is_ _ **so**_ _flirting with you right now._ She shyly returned his smile, suddenly feeling a little bit nervous.

"Namine!" a voice called looked over to the door, where an angry-looking Kairi was standing. Waving her phone in her hands, Kairi entered the classroom and approached her. "Dude, pick up your phone. I was waiting so long for you. Selphie too. Remember our little appointment at the grand opening of a cafe Selphie told us about?"

"Oh, shoot, sorry." Namine checked her phone and winced when she saw all the missed calls. "I was too involved in a problem, so I forgot about the time."

"Yeah, like that never happened before," Kairi rolled her eyes. "Oh, and hi, Roxas, fancy seeing you here." He offered a friendly wave in greeting.

"Haven't seen you since last period."

"Oh god, you're triggering me. Don't even mention the hell."

Of course, they were both referring to Sephiroth's class, but it was too much of an ill-omen to say out loud. "Anyways, sorry to take my sister away, but we gotta buzz!"

"She's all yours." Kairi gave a thumbs up, leaving a protesting Namine no chance to say goodbye to Roxas. Just as they left, Roxas's phone vibrated, signaling a text. He quickly scrambled for it in his pocket and hoped it was the person he had been waiting for since two weeks ago. He sighed in relief and smiled when it was.

 _Sora Hikari_

 _ **Where and what time?**_

When Kairi and Namine exited the hallways and came out to the outdoors, Kairi took this chance to attack.

"So Roxas, huh?"

"Don't even say anything, we were just doing a problem tog-"

"Namine doing a math problem _with someone_?" Kairi gasped. "You're too stubborn to do one with someone else, much less a boy!"

"Oh my gosh, Kairi!" Kairi laughed before linking arms with her sister.

"You know I love you too."

"Didn't ask, thank you very much."

"I like cafes."

"I know you do."

~.~.~

 _"Get him out of this house. He's eighteen-get out." Sora stared at Mrs. Hikari, wondering how much of the Devil was inside of her, before erupting into sarcastic laughter._

 _"Wouldn't want to stay in this rotten place any longer." He looked over at Roxas, who only had a crestfallen expression etched on his face. Deep inside, a small wave of guilt touched the shores of his heart, but Sora quickly made sure to replace it with anger and hate._

 _There was no room for sympathy when he had his own person to worry about._

 _"Do well in school." He narrowed his eyes at Mr. Hikari, knowing fully well why he had to._

 _"I'm not your plan B when Roxas fails you._ _'"_

 _"You can keep the car. I will text you the address to the apartment complex once you're out," Mr. Hikari replied, disregarding everything Sora said. "Do well in school." Sora licked his bottom lip before biting on it hard and exiting out the door, leaving the last thing he would call family._

"How are you classes?" Sora stiffly poked his food around the bowl as the soft music of jazz hummed its melody throughout the restaurant. He opted to stare at his food for the entire duration until he could finally get out and not look back.

"It's been fine, Dad." Roxas said rather uncomfortably. Sora tried not to snicker in mockery. "It's the same old same old." Mr. Hikari nodded approvingly as he settled his fork gently on his plate and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Ms. Hikari continued to eat in small, elegant bites, having said nothing the whole entire night besides greeting her son at the moment of his arrival.

 _Why am I here?_

Looking up, he accidentally made eye contact with Mr. Hikari and instantly glanced back down on his plate. _Get me the fuck out of here._

"How's the company, Dad? Seems like it's been busy."

"Oh, yes, very so. The latest model of the Keyblade is a huge success, so pre-orders are very high. It's been very hectic, but manageable."

"That's good." Sora tried not to gag as he listened on to what he believed to be an _unnecessary_ conversation. There were only three things that were _ever_ discussed in this household: Roxas's life, the company, and society.

Sora hated all three.

And as the night continued at the too-fancy restaurant, Sora counted down each and every second until he could finally be excused from this torture. Roxas had texted him that there was an absolutely "mandatory family gathering" and that he "had to be there" after Sora missed his call, but he saw no purpose of his presence here, for not a single word was said to him; it indeed was certainly just "the same old same old."

"How are...your days?" Sora was too busy poking around with his plate not giving a single damn about anything to realize that Mr. Hikari was _actually_ addressing him when no one else said anything until Roxas gave him a soft kick under the table.

"Fine," he answered gruffly. This answer elicited Mrs. Hikari's first few words of the entire night.

"Is that how you talk to your father?" Sora grinded his teeth, mentally questioning why the bitch had to ruin the miniscule amount of pleasure he had. He wondered how much longer he could last if she continued to talk. "Don't bring that type of mouth over this family bonding," Sora tried not to visibly roll his eyes, "And why are you even-"

"It's because I called for him," Mr. Hikari cut in sternly, effectively shutting up Mrs. Hikari.

"And I don't see why you even did," Sora muttered to himself, but everyone, of course, heard it. Roxas sucked his lips in, already not liking where the conversation was headed.

"Did you guys hear about the new electric skateboard that's been-"

"When are we going to stop playing the whole happy-family parade?" Sora cut in, ruining Roxas's attempt to somehow make the mood lighter. He glared at Mrs. Hikari, who only returned back his cold look. He then looked around the restaurant and almost laughed when he saw a reporter with his honking camera sticking above the leather seat. "Do you like fooling the public?"

"You! Wait until-" Sora settled his utensils down roughly and grabbed his jacket that hung on the back of his chair-he was so done. The lights were too bright for him, the music was too classy for him, and the food was too much for him-a life he could never enjoy.

With one last look at all three of them, Sora turned to his heels and walked away.

"Sora!" Roxas called out as he stormed out of the restaurant with a swing of the door. He looked between his parents before deciding to rush out with him.

Sora was about to unlock his car, go inside, and zoom away-and he didn't care how rude he was being-but was stopped when Roxas grabbed onto his arm and pulled him back. He turned around and sighed.

"What?" Roxas quickly let him go and nervously stuffed his hand back into his pants pocket.

"Don't mind it too much." Sora put a hand on the roof of his car and sighed as he looked at Roxas, whose eyes were a much brighter blue than his.

"You're saying the impossible."

"...Sorry," Roxas looked away, but looked back, "Hey, I know I have been saying this for as long as you remember, but if you need anything-"

"When are you going to stop playing the whole older brother charade?" Sora clicked the button to unlock his car and opened the door roughly, causing Roxas to force a step back. "It makes me sick." He didn't think twice to glance away when hurt flashed through Roxas's eyes.

"Sora," Roxas exasperated as he held onto the door to prevent it from closing as Sora stepped a foot into the car, "We're still family, even though-" He couldn't finish his sentence as Sora ripped the door out of his hold and pulled it close. Roxas put a hand on the window, only for it to slip off as Sora reversed his car and drove off, leaving him to stare at the shrinking car in sadness.

~.~.~

"Selphie, you didn't tell me it was this dang expensive," Kairi exasperated as she stared at the receipt in her hand. "I'm a broke college student, Selphie, a broke college student! And if I'm a broke college student, then Namine is one too! By the way, it's your turn, Namine." Namine took a card from the deck and frowned. Kairi snickered; her sister was so obvious whenever she played cards.

"Sorry, I mean, I did offer to pay for you," Selphie giggled as she fanned herself with her debit card while her other hand held her hand of cards. "Daddy reloaded my card yesterday. I just had to take you guys out with me! Aren't the cakes delicious though?"

"The cakes were great, but not my purse." Namine laughed at her sister's rage while she bit into a chocolate chip cookie, which was probably the best cookie she had ever eaten-no lie. "Now I have to save more next month's expenses."

"Sorry, hon." Kairi whimpered a fake cry before stuffing a large piece of cheesecake in her mouth.

"It's okay," she sniffed, "Mom always did tell us buying food is never a regret, right, Namine?"

"Now you're just trying to make yourself feel better."

"It's the truth, though! And hey, no cheating here, Selphie. I see what you doing with those sneaky eyes of yours."

Selphie had led them to a cafe that had a bunch of stuff, including caffeine and sweets. Kairi loved sweets, so she couldn't resist, even if she knew money was going down the drain, but if she had known it would cost this much, she would've taken a step back out the moment she took one step in.

The place was nice with creamy-yellow walls enclosing the place. Whoever was the designer of the place was probably into cute stuff, for drawings of happy cupcakes, cookies, and coffee hung all over the wall, giving the shop a cute and fluffy atmosphere. A little bit too girly for Kairi's tastes-scratch that, it was _way_ too girly-but Namine and Selphie thought otherwise as they gushed over it all.

As long as her appetite for sweets was fulfilled, Kairi couldn't care less. Fortunately, the store did a pretty good job if it managed to keep all three of them hostage for over three hours.

 _Hey, I really like the games they have here._

"Kairi, I think your phone's vibrating over there," Namine pointed out. "It has been for a while, and I thought you were ignoring it."

"Huh? Really?" Kairi settled down her spoon and flipped her phone over to check the screen to see what Namine was talking about. When she did, however, she grimaced, put it back face down, and picked up her utensil to continue eating. This resolution didn't last long, for her phone kept vibrating. Picking it back up, she unlocked her phone to see what the hell was going on.

"Who is it?" Selphie asked. Kairi didn't answer her as she read her texts, completely flabbergasted at the gibberish she was trying to decipher.

 _Jerk Hikari_

 _ **hhioh**_

Kairi blinked. Is that supposed to be a freaking "hi"? She continued reading.

 _ **i'm sora**_

 _ **i eman i'm sory. its'a litle bit too lateafor it but i'm asoryr**_

 _What the actual fuck is this?_ Kairi rubbed her forehead and also her eyes as she continued to make out his foreign language and scroll down to check what kind of madness he was throwing at her.

 _ **i don lujke not talknig its knid of lonlye. sorry**_

Kairi did the first thing that came into her mind.

 _Are you freaking okay?_

 _ **yes i'm mightyy fin. i'm starint to see aligatros in the bar though. it's kind of weird.**_

Kairi widened her eyes.

 _... dude, are you drunk?_

 _ **no.**_

 _are you sure?_

 _ **thers a lot off aliggateos here. come hlep me!**_

Kairi rolled her eyes and settled her phone down, not impressed. _And he called me a bad drunk._ Of course, her first resolution was to just continue hanging out with Selphie and Namine and let the guy do whatever he wished, but that didn't work out well for her.

 _What if he got into some kind of trouble?_ Remembering the wild night she had, she paled.

 _God damn it._

The roles have been switched.

"Hey, guys, I think I have to go somewhere," Kairi trailed slowly as she gradually stood up from her seat while grabbing her stuff and watching the stream of texts Sora continued to send her. Sora began to type nonsense she could no longer understand. "If I don't, I might regret it for the rest of my life." Even if she was on strike.

" _What?_ " Namine stressed, a bit bewildered to see her sister suddenly ditching her and Selphie. "Wait, what's going on?"

"An idiot, that's what." Drunk people were a hazard, and if something ever happened to him that could be preventable by her hands, she had no choice-unless she wanted to have a bunch of regrets on her, and she had enough already. "Make sure to package me some."

"We don't have a fridge though! Wait, Kai- _ugh_." As Kairi exited out the door and immediately caught a taxi, Namine reluctantly ordered another piece of cake for Kairi. Selphie smiled.

"Nice relationship you guys have." Namine rolled her eyes.

"Thanks."

~.~.~

Kairi had a hard time deciphering the hieroglyphic text of the address of the bar Sora gave her, but fortunately, the taxi driver managed to recognize the name despite all the jumbled letters.

"Not too far from here," he assured Kairi as he did a U-turn. Kairi sighed and pinched her eyebrows together, wondering what kind of mess he was in to make him look this retarded through text. However, she couldn't help but laugh a little bit. A drunk Sora was funny.

He believed alligators in the bar were out to get him.

 _I freaking can't._

When she reached the place, she saw his car parked by the sideline. Kairi quickly made her way out the taxi and into the bar, not wanting to be out longer than she had to; the area was quite shady, and she didn't want to bump into any crazed stranger. With phone still vibrating from his bombardment of incoherent messages, she fought through the crowded and loud tables.

It wasn't hard to find Sora, for he was with one of the bartenders. He had the side of his face leaning on a propped hand while the other was busy doing something she couldn't see from her view. She let out huff of frustration as she strode towards his way, clearly uncomfortable with the place. Alcohol and drunkenness were not her best friends, especially after having an _intimate_ encounter with them just recently.

Reaching him, she could finally see what he was doing, and she had to refrain herself from chucking her phone at him.

There he was, typing and tapping randomly on his phone out of annoyance and pressing the send button like no tomorrow in his and Kairi's chat box. He wasn't even looking at his phone! He stopped momentarily to grab the glass in his hand and put it to his mouth, only to find it empty.

"Can I have another?" she heard him request. The bartender was obviously reluctant in giving him one, but Kairi saved him out of his misery.

"Oh, no you don't, mister," she scolded, taking the glass out of his hands. His eyes whipped over to hers. They first looked at her in irritation for taking his glass, widened when he seemed to recognize who she was, and twinkled as he smiled at her.

"Kairi," he let out in a silly manner, hand still propping his face. "Why are you here? Look, the alligators are going to get me." He weakly pointed a finger at the table, where a bunch of large men were. Kairi's eye twitched.

"Sora, they're just wearing green-shaded clothes."

"Alligators can wear clothes?" Kairi pinched her eyebrows.

He was so drunk. His eyes were glazed and the usual hard expression he wore on his face constantly was nonexistent, replaced with one that creeped Kairi out big time.

But one thing she mentally slapped herself for admitting was that his carefree expression looked kind of...cute.

"C'mon, I'm going to dump you back at your apartment and take your car to drive myself back, okay?" Sora blinked at her, but continued to smile at her.

"I kind of don't want to go."

"Too bad." She tugged him up by the arm, and, surprisingly he complied. What was more surprising, however, was that he seemed sober as he followed her out the bar. No wobbly business or anything like that. She had to warily look back to make sure he wasn't doing anything whack, only to find him following her footsteps with a happy, drunk expression on his face.

That was, until they reached the isolated place near his car.

"Kairi."

"Wha-whoa!" Sora tugged her arm unexpectedly, pulling her to him. She looked up and blushed when she saw how close he was to her, especially his face. "What in the world are you doi-"

"Kairi, I like looking at you." Under the street light, she saw his blue eyes reflect in a way she never saw before. "I like your eyes." She felt her stomach flop upside down as her heart sped up like crazy. She felt really weird now.

A feeling she hadn't felt in a while. _What the?_ She shook her head. _He's just saying nice things, Kairi, don't take it to heart._

 _Never take it to heart._

"Sora, let me g-"

"They look like Xion's." She stopped mid-sentence, and the racing of her heart instantly died down, only to feel disappointment. Whether it was a personal disappointment or disappointment due to the fact that he just gave her a compliment and shut her down to compare her to someone else, she didn't know, but it didn't feel good either way.

"Excuse me?"

 **Hi guys! Omg, so sorry for the late update. I was so busy two weeks ago because of school and last week because of the holidays! I rushed this chapter to update but I shouldn't have cause #qualitybetter BUT I ALREADY SPIT THIS OUT SO. Hope it isn't that bad and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! hehe :)**


	10. Chapter 10

_Call me if you need your car back. -Kairi_

Sora pursed his lips as he ripped the yellow sticky note off his fridge.

"Fuck me." He crumpled it up and tossed it in the nearby trash can, only to miss. Questioning why the gods were making his morning so shitty, he groaned in anguish in the empty apartment and trudged over to pick it up and throw it again.

He wasn't expecting Kairi to actually come over and pick him up. He actually was planning to call Riku because the guy would come running any time, despite their fight. All the crap he threw at Kairi was supposed to be for Riku, for he wanted to apologize to him and make up with him too but for some reason, he felt that he had to make amends with Kairi first-but he didn't expect his drunken mind to _actually_ act on this fleeting thought. He could remember his stupid self just mindlessly tapping on his phone like no tomorrow like a mad man.

"Sora, how retarded are you?" he chided himself, bonking himself on the side of the head. He then laughed.

Alcohol sure does connect people. First Kairi, now him. _Ha._

He leaned over the counter, grabbed a glass, and poured himself some water at the sink. As he did so, he began to regret everything from last night-like he always did whenever he went to drink. Frustrated at almost _everything_ (for encounters with a certain someone and his family always triggered him), he resorted to alcohol-which he questioned himself for. The last time he drank, he found himself at some random girl's party Riku invited him to.

And no, he didn't do anything weird.

Luckily, he didn't get too smashed to completely forget everything. Heck, he remembered everything a little bit _too_ vividly. Now he had no doubts that, indeed, he was an _absolute retard_ last night. From the clothes-wearing alligators-curse himself for even having the capability of conjuring up such a thing-to the weird look Kairi gave him when she arrived, he remembered nearly _everything._

However, there was something that had been bothering him greatly ever since he woke up thirty minutes ago. Why did Kairi's disappointed face keep popping up in his mind, and where did it come from? The reason to _this_ was the only thing he could not remember, no matter how much he concentrated.

"Am I imagining things up?" Sora glanced over at the trash can where the note was and shrugged. Remembering the way she regarded him after his flurry of texts in the form of an apology and the way she casually left a note on his fridge, he merely shrugged and dismissed the problem. "Everything seems fine now."

He couldn't have done anything to make it any worse, right?

Oh, he was so wrong.

When he called her, he was extremely irked at her responses.

"Yes?" was the first thing she said after she picked up. He blinked as pulled a chair from the kitchen table and sat on it, settling his glass of water on the table. _Curt and simple, huh?_

"Hey," he said awkwardly. "Sorry about yes–"

"Do you need the car now?" _Whoa there._ Sora nearly spat out his drink at her straightforward answer. He didn't want to assume anything but she sounded kind of rude. _Looks like someone's starting off the day with a bad morning._

"Huh?" he let out dumbly. When the only thing he heard was the buzz of the phone call, he managed to stutter out a "sure" for the sake of saving himself from the silence.

"I'll be there in ten minutes," she said before abruptly ending the call, leaving him no time to voice his thanks. He pulled his phone away from his ear and stared at it with great confusion, wondering what was getting on her bad side this morning. Shrugging it off as her having another "girl" problem, he once again dismissed the possibility that he was the one behind it all and went back upstairs to wash up and get ready to greet her.

When the door bell rang, he hurriedly clambered down the stairs and swung the door open to meet the one and only. Ready to throw a sarcastic joke at her like he always did, he wasn't expecting her to throw his jumble of keys at him the moment he opened the door. Scrambling like a frantic cat, he played hot potato with his keys for a split second before securing a grasp on it.

"Here you go," she deadpanned. He frowned at her ever so slightly as he stuffed his keys into his pocket.

"What in the world has gotten you so ticked off like some grumpy grandma?" He mentally kicked himself off–why couldn't his sarcastic switch be turned off when it needed to be the most? "Starting the morning bad?"

"Yeah, it turned sour the moment I had to step inside your car." _Ouch._

"Excuse me?"

"I don't ever want to be in again, so don't make me." Sora narrowed his eyes. Just when he felt her to be agreeable to some extent after knowing her for the past couple of months, the levels dropped back down to the negative region as he regarded her at this instant.

"Excuse you, but I don't think I want you to handle my baby anyway, considering the fact that you almost had me killed more than I would've liked during our slave contract." Her mouth opened slightly in annoyance as her eye twitched before she turned on her heels to leave without saying a word. He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, ready to walk back in the house, but his inner conscious told him that doing that was not something he should be doing, especially after, he assumed, having made up with her.

Scratching the back of his head in irritation, he couldn't deal with another episode of bad blood between them anymore (even though he was totally making it worse each passing second), so he stepped out of his apartment and ran past her to stand in front of her, blocking her way.

"What?" she asked, ticked.

"I don't think you can go anywhere with no ride." Her composure faltered a little bit after realizing the daunting fact before she regained herself.

"That's why Uber exists." Sora clicked his tongue in irritation.

"Stop being stubborn and get in the car."

"I don't want to get in your lousy, stinking car." She took a side step and was determined to walk past him, but he shot an arm out to block her way.

"Look, I know the way I said it was bad yesterday," he stopped when a sudden blush tinted her cheeks. _What the hell?_ He frowned while she looked away.

Okay, so maybe something _did_ happen.

"I dislike you. Dude, leave me alone."

"Now you're just throwing a hissy fit." That was all it took for Kairi to call it quits. With one last look that Sora had a hard time figuring out, she opted out from saying another word to him and pushed past his arm, much to his displeasure. Having nothing much to spit out at her anymore, Sora just let her go by and watched her figure turn the corner of the street. _Have it your way._ He knocked the side of his head gently–but still painfully–against the wall of his apartment and heaved a huge exasperated sigh.

"Why is this girl so troublesome?" He rubbed the back of his neck before he trudged back into his apartment and closed the door with a huge slam, wondering what he did wrong this time. It's not like he insulted her that ba–

And then it suddenly clicked.

 _They look like Xion's_.

"Holy fucking shit."

~.~.~

"Freaking insults and offends me twenty-four seven and still has the nerve to talk to me," Kairi grumbled as she stomped down the columns of the university near the library. "Just when I thought he was becoming nicer, his inner asshole just comes out and–ugh!" She kicked one of the poor streetlights that was in the way of her episode, only to hurl over in pain as she stubbed her own toe in her flurry of anguish. "Freaking moogles! Didn't even give me a proper apology. If his stupid, wild, nonsensical texts were his way of apologizing, then he better get his brain replaced for a newer and better one!"

Yes, Kairi was very angry at this, not to mention the other mishap that happened last night that loaded her grudge against the cursed spiky-haired boy. "Xion? I'm suddenly a Xion? First I'm a Kailey, then I'm a Chicken-Clutzy, and now I'm a freaking Xion? _Pfft_. Should've left you to fend for yourself and your stupid alligators!" She was _so_ done. She was never ever going to talk to him again, even if her life depended on it.

"Kairi, are you okay?" Kairi turned around and met eyes with the brother who was the polar opposite from the jerk. He had a concerned look etched on his face, having witnessed her little tantrum as he carried textbooks in his arms.

"Ew," she pointed at them, "Did you get in trouble?" Roxas glanced at the textbooks in his hands and sighed grimly.

"Yeah. Didn't do physics homework for a good week because I procrastinated on English. Anyways," he signaled towards her with his eyebrows, "You seem kind of bothered." Kairi huffed a sigh and waved a hand, dismissing the subject.

"Don't even worry about it. If anything, you should get rid of those textbooks ASAP because your arms don't look like they can survive any longer." She quirked an eyebrow when he suddenly averted his eyes away from hers and stood his ground in response. Being a good sport about it, she took a few books off his hold and signaled with her body towards the library. "Library?"

"Hey, I have something to ask you, Kairi." She blinked. Roxas Hikari? The genius? Asking her for something?

"Um, I don't think I'm the best person for you to ask questions because I suck at almost–" She stopped when he suddenly shook his head, hair bouncing at the motion. He pursed his lips and suddenly blushed, freaking out Kairi even more.

"That's not it."

"Something bothering you, Roxas?" He coughed.

"Does your sister have a boyfriend or anything like that? I mean, like–whoa!" Kairi dropped all the books in her hand the moment she heard "sister" and "boyfriend" in the same sentence.

" _Pardon?_ " Kairi entered a coughing fit when she choked on her own saliva. She could barely even spit out a single word! Roxas lit up like a firecracker before shaking his head and helping her pick everything up.

"Okay, never mind what I said. I didn't say anything." Kairi shook her head in turn.

"Oh my God, Roxas, no, it's okay–"

"No, I didn't say anything!"

"Dude, I was just surprised. No, my sister is no–"

"I said never mind!" Roxas, in a nervous mess, stood up, leaving his own books on the ground. Kairi stood up with him and grasped him by the shoulders. She shook him, not caring that she might've looked like a maniac bullying a poor boy, but that was the least of her problems.

"Are you interested in my sister? Oh my God, why else would you be asking? Do you think she's cool? Do you want to–"

"No, Kairi, I just wanted to kn–"

"Take her, Roxas, just take her!"

"Kairi!" He grasped her wrists and pulled them away from him, saving himself from the jittery terror Kairi inflicted on him. She jumped on her toes, way too excited for her own good. It was about time Namine took a snag at a boy! And a handsome, smart, and nice one too!

"Roxas, you have my blessings. I approve of everything, so you don't have to worry about me biting your butt because _I approve._ " She nodded excitedly, getting way too ahead of herself as she bent down to pick up her books. "You know, I always thought you two looked pretty well together because, well, you two just look so cute!"

"Kairi, you're jumping the gun," he muttered, but he didn't deny anything as he calmed himself down and helped pick up the books. Kairi breathed in and out, attempting to dispel all the giddiness in her, but it barely helped.

"When did it start?" Roxas stood up, completely ignoring Kairi as he walked past her and towards the library.

"No." Kairi, with her own stack, followed him like an annoying bunny.

"When?"

"..."

"Roxas!"

"No."

"She's cute, isn't she?"

"..."

"Isn't she?"

"...Maybe." Kairi squealed animatedly, causing Roxas to wince. From the way to and from the library, Kairi couldn't stop tailing him to continue interrogate him. She needed to know every single juicy detail, even if Roxas failed to cooperate. _I will squeeze everything out of you._ And for the next hour, she completely forgot her anger and focused on helping her sister hook up with a guy because a chance like this comes every gazillion years!

She didn't notice how she caught the attention of Xion as they walked past her down the hall.

~.~.~

 _Sora fell backward, unable to withstand the force of the soccer ball as it mashed right against his face. His glasses fell off, cracked and damaged as it skidded across the cement floor._

 _"Shit, oops!" Sora grimaced as he propped himself up by his elbows, ignoring the obnoxious laughter that came from behind him as he cupped the side of his face with a hand. Reaching forward for his glasses with the other, he could barely contain himself to see them broken. "Didn't see you there, Hikari!"_

 _"Can you knock it off?" Sora suddenly found himself lifted up by his elbow by none other than Roxas, who was not in a good mood as he glared daggers at Seifer and his gang. "Real mature." Sora bit the inside of his cheek hard, wanting nothing more than to pull his arm back to his side and just disappear._

 _He felt pathetic._

 _"Sorry, he's just so small!" Standing a couple inches shorter than everyone else, Sora hated his height with a deep passion, especially compared to Roxas._

 _Roxas merely clicked his tongue and dragged Sora towards the bleachers. He forced him to sit down, much to Sora's reluctance._

 _"Here, let me go get you an ice pack." Before Sora could say anything in protest, Roxas had already begun to run towards the nurse's office way across the school, leaving Sora feeling trashier than ever. The lens of his glasses finally gave way in his hold and broke off from the frame, making him throw it down onto the ground in anger–it wasn't the first time they got destroyed._

 _"I don't think that's a smart thing to do." He looked up with squinted eyes to regard whoever came to bother him this time. The person standing over him blocked the sun from his view, offering some relief from the burning heat that did not make him feel better in the slightest._

 _It was a girl with shoulder-length hair in his PE class that he never really talked to before. He uncomfortably moved away; girls approaching him never signaled anything good. Why would they anyway? Even if they did, it was only for one purpose that just made him despise the person even more. "That looks like it hurts."_

 _He didn't say anything. The girl frowned at his lack of response and bent down to be at eye level with him. Surprised, he widened his eyes and broke eye contact._

 _"What do you need?" he grumbled, edging further from the girl. Out of nowhere, hands shot out to cup his face. Finding himself forced to turn his head and look at her, he had a hard time containing his instinct to just push her away._

 _"It's rude to not look at a person when they're talking to you," she scolded, eyebrows lightly forming a frown, but it quickly dissolved to reveal a smile. "Plus, the color of your eyes are pretty. It's a shame to hide them." Much to his relief, she let him go, but not without making sure he wasn't going to look away. She shuffled through the pockets of her sport shorts and fished out a bandage. With wary eyes, he watched as she peeled it and handed it to him._

 _"My name is Xion. Yours?" For the first time ever, Sora felt his heart flutter in a weird way._

 _"Sora. Sora Hikari." Xion cracked another huge smile as she helped him put the bandage on the scratch on his cheek._

 _"Nice to meet you. Couldn't just leave you alone with that huge bruise on your cheek and all!"_

"Sora, I have a question to ask you."

"...Yes?"

"Why have you been a loner for the past week or so?" Sora pinched his eyebrows together while he felt pressured by the scrutinizing look of Selphie. "As your best female friend–"

"Hey, I don't think we ever established tha–"

"It doesn't make me feel good that you literally just called me out for lunch because your poor soul doesn't have anyone else, boy." Sora put up both of his hands, shaking his head at the shameful accusation.

"Whoa, you're jumping it there; I _never_ said that. Can't a friend–"

" _Best friend_ –"

"–invite you to lunch?"

"Wait until I poke your eyes out with this straw if you ever do this to me again. I was supposed to go shopping today, Sora, _shopping_!" Sora could never understand this girl's shopping addiction. It needed to be fixed because it was _bad._

"Who do you like better, shopping or your best friend?"

"Oh, just shut up," Selphie swatted her hand in the air as she took a sip of her smoothie, "Anyway, we digress. What's wrong?" Sora tugged the collar of his flannel with a finger nervously; this girl was spot on.

"Whoever said anything was wro–"

"Sora Hikari does not simply invite someone out to lunch _just_ to have lunch." Sora began to wonder how badly people thought he was because _wow._

"You're hurting my feelings here." Selphie slipped the straw out of her cup and held it at knife-point, causing Sora to take a huge scoot back with his chair.

"Wait 'til I actually hurt you and gauge your eyeballs out." He sighed.

"Okay, fine, I need a second-person opinion on something–well, _some things._ " Selphie raised an eyebrow. "Uh, _friendship_ problems."

"Who did you fuck up with this time?" Here it was: the one-eighty degree flip of Selphie. "Is it Riku? You always fuck up with Riku." Sora let out a sound of weak laughter.

"You're good, but not good enough."

"Roxas too, am I right?" Sora licked his lips. _Holy shit, she's pretty good._ "And if Roxas is involved, the witch is too."

"Well, not this time, but that's besides the point because–"

"Wow, there's someone else besides those two? Sora, your social circle is growing!"

"Oh my moogles, let me finish one freaking whole complete sentence for once," Sora flung a piece of lettuce at Selphie in frustration, successfully landing it on her head and between her hair. He sniggered when she immediately shook her head to get rid of it.

He just adored Selphie. Their love-hate relationship was simply beautiful. "Anyways, I'm going to give you a hypothetical situation."

"Nothing's a hypothetical situation if you actually ask about it, but it's okay; I'll pretend it is. Go for it." Although, sometimes, he hated how she always managed to make him sound stupid. _Sigh._

"Let's say that you have a friend."

"Okay."

"And let's say you got into a fight," he held up a finger when her mouth was ready to interrupt again, "But this isn't just a regular fight. It's a fight where I screwed–I mean, the person screwed up two times in a row." Okay, now his cover totally blown, but that didn't stop him from continuing to remain ambiguous, even if Selphie didn't buy a single piece of it.

"How bad is it?" Sora rubbed his cheek with a hand.

"Let's just say– _let's just say_ ," he emphasized the last part when Selphie gave him a suspicious look, "that this _person_ , this unknown person, is a female and is dealing with, uh, heartbreak."

"Okay, and?"

"How would you, a fellow female, feel if someone took your past relationship and put it on splash?" Selphie slammed her drink onto the table and widened her eyes. Sora winced. "I'm not done yet."

"It can't get any worse than it already is."

"What if someone also kind of compares you to another girl, like, kind of-ish?" Selphie shook her head disappointedly.

"Whoever you wronged, you better say a million sorry's because you're a complete asshole." Sora laughed darkly.

 _Fuck me._

"Let me just remind you that this isn't about me at all, alright?"

"Sure."

~.~.~

Namine could not handle the sneaky glances Kairi was shooting her while she painted on her canvas. Kairi laid on her stomach on Namine's bed, legs swinging while she scrolled through her phone. If she thought Namine couldn't see her, then her stealth was anything but super duper.

"What are you painting there?" Namine raised an eyebrow. Her sister never asked about her drawings _ever_ , for they were too "sophisticated" for her–she obviously had no interest in art.

"Why are you asking?" Namine asked defensively.

" _Pfft_ , shoot me for committing a crime. I'm just asking you what you're painting." Namine narrowed her eyes at Kairi. Kairi merely returned it with an innocent look.

"I'm painting a landscape."

"Wow, how specific." Namine rolled her eyes and turned back to her canvas. A moment of silence passed between them before Kairi decided to get another knack at it.

"I saw Roxas today near the library." What Kairi thought was a pretty significant statement was just an ordinary one to Namine.

"That's cool. I saw Selphie too just this morning when I woke up before she went to go shopping or something like that," Namine deadpanned, not at all getting what Kairi was hinting at. "And I also saw Mr. Leonhart in the morning getting his coffee from the office. Pretty exciting." Kairi pouted at her sister's sarcasm and rolled to her back, holding her phone up in the air as she continued to play tapping games on it.

"Did you see any cute guys?"

"Why...?" Namine began to grow dubious. Kairi simply grinned before letting the matter drop. _It's too early, Kairi, it's too early._ She had to plant the seeds of love first before she could start to do anything. _Slowly, but surely. Just you wait, Roxas._

Weekends were always super boring now. The two sisters' desires to do anything died down in a couple of weeks when they realized they couldn't do much as broke college students. Being cooped up in the dorms was a regular thing now too, despite it being the last thing they wanted to do.

"Why don't we have any friends?" Kairi groaned as she buried her face into the fluffy pillow. "We could be hanging out with someone right now."

"Again, Selphie went out shopping."

"Is Selphie our only friend, Nami'?"

"Well, we really haven't put any effort into evolving our nonexistent-social life, so stop complaining." Kairi laughed because it was the sad truth.

"Maybe I should join a club." Namine visibly shuddered, obviously triggered.

"Please don't. You're horrible at committing to that stuff." Kairi stuck out her tongue, although Namine wasn't facing her at all as she continued to paint.

"Says who?"

"Says the person who witnessed you join seventeen clubs in high school in one year only to flake out on all of them except the sandwich club because there were free weekly sandwiches." Kairi heaved a loud and long sigh; Namine always beat her in these types of arguments. There was no way of winning them at all.

"Why am I living a loner life in college?"

"What happened to Sora and all? I've seen you guys hang out here and now, but I haven't heard about him recently." At the mention of his name, Kairi scrunched her face up in disgust. Namine settled down her palette and paintbrush and decided to take a break. Seeing Kairi's look, she crossed her arms. "What's wrong?"

"I don't like him," Kairi complained, punching a pillow. Namine laughed.

"That's nothing new, but what happened this time? I swore you guys were the best of friends." Kairi coughed, caught off guard by Namine because she actually sounded serious. She thumped her chest to get all of it out.

"Best of friends?" she spat out. "Are you blind?" Namine frowned, as if what Kairi said actually concerned her.

"Are you guys not friends? By the way you guys sat and talked with each other from time to time, I thought all your differences were," Namine gestured with her hands, having no words to describe exactly what kind of relationship the two of them had–Kairi never really did explore about the subject. "Am I wrong?"

"Yes, you are very wrong."

"What did he do this time?" Kairi rubbed her forehead with a hand, and began to relay everything back to Namine, from the start of the whole fight to the end last night.

"And since we were already kind of bad after he suddenly pulled Vanitas into the mix out of nowhere," Kairi vented, telling Namine about the other thing, "He suddenly insults me even more with the whole Xion thing! Like seriously? My eyes are my eyes, like, they're not Xion's, jerk." And as Kairi continued to rant about all the things Sora did to piss her off since the beginning of time, she didn't notice how Namine was giving her a very, very peculiar look.

"Kairi," Namine cut in. Kairi stopped and let out a "hmm?" Namine looked Kairi up and down before signaling towards her phone. "Speaking of Vanitas, how are you feeling?" Kairi had a bizarre look on her face.

"Namine, I'm not even talking about him right now."

"Exactly."

"Pardon me?" Past the point of simple confusion, Kairi was no longer sure if Namine was on the same page as her. "I'm confused."

"Yeah, you are because you don't see it, do you?" Namine fought to keep a smile from forming on her face. "You're so adorable, Kairi." Shivers ran down her spine; this did not sound good _at all_.

"Namine, what are you implying?"

"Kairi...are you perhaps... _interested_ in Sora?"

Kairi entered a super, violent coughing fit.

 _What the flipping flappers?_ And where the freaking hell did she get _that_ from? Kairi felt her heart run a five kilometer race from the _accusation_.

"No! What are you saying, Namine?!" Kairi shouted, swinging her legs off the bed and standing up on the ground. Unknowingly, she began to pace the room. " _Pfft_! Namine!" Namine began to grow nervous.

"Kairi, you're starting to pa–"

"Where in the heck did you get that from! _Ha!_ " Her? Falling in love? _With Sora_? Was her sister crazy? Was she starting to lose it too? Is college starting to take a toll on her mind? Where was she getting this unpractical _gibberish_ from? Unimaginable!

"Kairi, you do know that you're blushing as red as a fire hydrant, right?" Kairi instantly cupped her face with her two hands, only to feel intense heat radiating from both.

"No, it's just the summer heat."

"Summer ended a good month and a half ago." Kairi fanned herself as she continued to pace, something she did not know she did whenever she grew flustered. Namine simply sat at her desk and watched in amusement, waiting for her to calm her butt down.

"I don't understand how you're confusing anger and frustration with...with _attraction!_ " Kairi could feel herself building up the rage as she began to remember all the times he called her stupid nicknames and played stupid pranks on her and made fun of her and talked to her and listened to her and saved her from sticky situations and just everything that pissed her off!

 _Wait, that doesn't sound quite right._

"I was wondering what got you down the past two weeks," Namine started slowly, looking Kairi right in the eye. "I thought you were moping about Vanitas again, so I decided to leave you alone, but..."

"What?"

"You're actually bothered because of Sora the whole entire time."

"Am not." Namine clicked her tongue at Kairi's stubbornness while Kairi only returned it with an indignant look. "I dislike him so much, you don't understand."

"I mean, if you dislike him so much as you claim, I don't think you wouldn't be freaking out this much about him, and you wouldn't be as hurt and upset as you are now because of what he said two weeks ago and last night."

"I'm not!"

"Look, you're getting so mad and red just because of him! You oblivious redhead, you're literally getting upset over the fact that he declared that your eyes looked like Xion's. You wouldn't take this to heart if you didn't at least see him a little bit in _that_ light." Kairi opened her mouth to protest, but shut it again when she a question dawned on her.

Why on earth _was_ she getting so heated up about this? And not just that–when did she begin to... _care_ more about what he said? From the strange feelings in her stomach to the way her heart would just randomly speed up slightly whenever he did something unexpectedly pleasant, she... she didn't know.

 _Oh God._

"Let's face it: Sora's actually a nice guy and a good-looking one as well. You're interested in him Kairi–or, if you can't stand that–you're starting to notice him more–"

"Namine, you're wro–"

"–to the point of caring about Vanitas less and less. Girl, you literally just mentioned his name, and I asked about him, and I expected you to go on about him since he's indirectly waging war on you on social media, but instead, it seems like another guy has been encompassing your thoughts recently. Okay, I admit I kind of threw a big one at you, but shoot me if I'm wrong about this: you're really starting to care about Sora more than just a stranger." Kairi stopped pacing and turned towards her sister. Namine offered a small smile and let out a small laugh. "And that's not bad."

"What do you mean?"

"You're still getting over a pretty nasty heartbreak, and I know that. So maybe this is it," Namine signaled for Kairi to come over, in which she did, and held both of her hands. "I think you should open your horizons and actually take a step forward and forget all that stuff. Just kidding, I don't think I have to say that because you've unconsciously started to do that already. Sora's a nice guy, I really think so. Based on what you've told me, there's no harm to just go for it, and no, I'm not telling you to go and bang him or anything or to hook up with him," Kairi faked a gag at this, "But, you know, just get to know him better. I'm sure a cool friendship would bloom between you two. It doesn't necessarily have to be _love_ , but–okay, you get the point."

"What is this all based on again?" Kairi bit the bottom of her lip, having already calmed down from her pacing episode; now she was able to comprehend what Namine said with a little bit more of reasoning and logic.

"He didn't just leave you bleeding on the streets, did he?" Namine joked, referring all the way back from the beginning. "And I just forgot the important part of it: he saved your life. He got his wrist messed up _just_ for you."

"I mean, if I was him, I wouldn't want someone to just die in front of me too."

"Okay, fine, but what about the time you got so smashed at a party, you couldn't even walk? Who took care of you, man?"

"That doesn't really–"

"And who listened to you and your ramblings about your crappy ex-boyfriend? Who even bought you ice cream to listen to you? And, gosh, he even got you started on the road of dumping that scumbag from your memories with that whole Facebook status! And these are only things I've heard from you. I can't imagine what else he does for you that you don't talk about. Look me in the eye and tell me that you he's truly an asshole." Kairi let go of Namine's hands and twiddled her fingers.

"Okay, he's not an asshole, but–"

"Then that's it. There's no problem. Embrace it, Kairi, just embrace it. What do you want to do right now, honestly?" Kairi felt so awkward talking to Namine about this, but it wasn't the first time they ever had this talk. She rubbed the back of her neck.

"I kind of don't like this stalemate-war between us."

"Then you should just hurry up and talk it out with him and become 'comrades' again."

~.~.~

Riku stabbed his salad nervously with a fork, eyes never leaving the spiky-haired brunet sitting across from him and the rest of the gang. From the nudging from Axel and the leg kicks from Hayner, he figured he wasn't the only one ready to crap his pants.

Noticing all the fidgeting between the three, Sora looked up from his lunch and raised a curious eyebrow.

"Are you three okay?"

"Y-yeah, totally, never been better," Riku stuttered dumbly as he continued to murder his lunch. Currently, the four of them were sitting at their usual table outside the cafeteria, eating a tension-filled lunch; it had been a while since all four of them were together like this. The chilliness of the incoming winter was anything but soothing either.

"What brings you here, Sora?" Axel blurted. Riku elbowed him sharply at the side, causing him to choke on the rest of his words. Sora looked up and frowned slightly.

"What, am I not allowed to sit here now?" Hayner shook his head quickly.

"N'aw, dude, what makes you say that?" All three of them were freaked out about Sora's sudden appearance, since he literally came out of nowhere and sat down like there was no problem at all. Riku planned to talk to him sooner or later–they possibly couldn't play this silent game forever–but he clearly was not ready for this situation. The three looked at each other and agreed with one single fact when Sora took out his phone and checked it.

Sora Hikari's silence was the scariest shit in the world to experience.

"Y'all should stop it with the silent messages. I hate to break it to you guys, but you're not slick," Sora said bluntly, looking at each of them directly in the eye. "It's kind of embarrassing and cringey, just so you know." Riku rubbed his neck, silently admitting defeat, before regaining his normal composure.

"How are you feeling?"

"Complete shit because I went drinking last night." Short and straight to the point–Sora's style whenever he didn't want to delve deeper into the subject. Riku widened his eyes and slightly slammed the table in astonishment.

"Dude, seriously?" Sora shrugged nonchalantly.

"Rough night, man. I regret everything. No, it's not because of you; don't flatter yourself too much." He said the last part when a guilty look plastered over Riku. Deciding it was the time to make amends, Sora cleared his throat. "I'm kind of over it already, so stop freaking out."

"Really?"

"Do you really think I'm that petty? Plus, it's not the first time this happened." He shot Riku the look, in which he returned with a sheepish smile. Axel and Hayner released the breath they were holding and shook themselves to rid the tension in their body.

"Dude, when you just sat down, I thought we were going to brawl or something," Hayner said, shivering slightly as he imagined the scene. "Riku's super buff, and even if you're scrawny, Sora–"

"What the heck did you just call me?–"

"–you're just as capable of beating someone into a pulp." Sora rolled his eyes at Hayner's silliness.

"Doesn't hurt my ego at all." The three laughed while Sora managed a small smile.

"But seriously, I'm sorry about, well, yeah." Sora sighed.

"Whatever. It's okay. What you said was kind of right anyways." Riku nodded, not yet understanding what Sora was admitting.

"Yup, yup, I was right–wait, the fuck? I was right?" Riku stared at Sora, who looked back unfazed. He shrugged.

"I mean, sometimes, I try to avoid her, but I'm a wimp, so," he shrugged again, unnerving his friends greatly at how easily he accepted his fate. "Doesn't work out the way I want it. _Anyway,_ anything new?" Sora, tired of his lunch which consisted of some weird _healthy_ muck that he got from Selphie (for eating healthy was something he wasn't going to do until swimming, so he might as well enjoy the freedom), couldn't finish the rest of it and decided to trash it along with his ice-worn soda. _No one would want to eat this anyway._

"I mean, without you, we can't party, Sora," Axel whined while Sora put everything away in the brown paper bag to throw away.

"Why so?"

"Nobody can drive us home once we get super knocked out!"

"No thanks." Too lazy to stand up and throw his trash away and unable to resist, Sora aimed at the trash can a good few feet away and closed an eye so that he could pinpoint it better.

"Sora, what are we, six?" Riku joked as he watched the brunet aim.

"You know, if I wasn't a swimmer, I think I would make a pretty good pitcher in baseball," Sora quipped. "Don't you think so?" And without another word, he pitched his trash towards the garbage can.

If only his words held any truth to it.

 _Clatter!_

"Shit!" Sora paled while his friends had their mouths wide open and dropped to the ground. Sora never wanted to jump off a cliff before, but now, the option never looked so delightful. In front of him was someone he didn't expect to see so soon–nor was he ready to face her either.

"Oh my God, Kairi, are you alright?" her blonde sister exclaimed next to her as she looked at the mess near her feet. Kairi grinded her teeth as she slowly lifted a leg up, shook it free from all the soda-mixed lunch from her shoes, and did the same with the other one before stomping it back on the ground. Sora had a weird sense of deja vu as he looked at the sight, but shook off the feeling and stood up from his table. His friends only huddled together to face the fear in the flesh.

"I did not expect it to ricochet off the garbage can," Sora said in a straightforward manner. "I swear." His trash had bounced off the edge of the garbage can, nearly making it in, only to go off the edge at an angle and splash all over Kairi's feet in a gigantic explosion. Kairi looked at Sora, and for some odd reason much to Sora's, turned slightly pink before frowning. _Whoa, I didn't expect her to get this angry._ Then again, when she trashed his white outfit, he hadn't been merciful either.

 _Karma's a bitch._

"Whatever," she muttered before shaking it off one last time. Sora quickly went over to trash everything he unsuccessful tried to pitch in. Namine looked between Sora and Kairi before giving Sora an assuring smile.

"Accidents happen," she said. Sora bit his bottom lip as he glanced at Kairi. She only huffed a breath and flung her hair over her shoulders.

"And you call me bad luck," Kairi hissed before stalking off towards the girl's bathroom to clean up her shoes. Namine was about to go after her, but Sora beat her to it as he jogged towards her. She laughed quietly to herself and, out of curiosity, looked over at where Sora's friends were, who were wondering what the hell was going on.

"Wait, Kailey–I mean Kairi." He gave himself another mental punch to the gut. He had said her name incorrectly so many times on purpose that his mouth decided to be best friends with it. Kairi looked over her shoulder grimaced.

"Hey, why are you following me? Are you a pervert?" She started to run, but unfortunately for her, he began to jog even faster. "Dude, just leave me alone!"

"Well, I will if you would just let me talk a few words or something!" he yelled back. He never realized it, but Kairi was one fast runner. Before he could reach out and stop her, she had successfully made it to the girl's outdoor bathroom and left him tipping over the borderline of the area. He let out a breath when he managed to save himself from the horror of stepping in the domain of the females, but it didn't save him from all the weird stares the girls were giving him as they stepped out. Much to his dismay, the bell decided to ring at that moment too.

"Why are you running away?" he asked when he knew Kairi was the only one in there now. He was thoroughly confused. He expected her to avoid him, but to run? _Yikes._ The only response she gave him was the splashing of water as she cleaned her shoes. He sighed. "You know, I'm not going to move from this spot unless you come out."

"Well, guess I'm going to stay here forever," she bit back as she scrubbed her shoes. Sora bit his cheek as he pulled up today's block schedule in his mind, and he wished he didn't.

"Well, I guess we'll be dealing with Sephiroth's punishment together, huh?" He tried not to laugh (for it was a very inappropriate time to laugh at the moment) when the sound of splashing water stopped and was replaced with only the sleek sound of running water. If he could feel the terror, she could feel it by a tenfold. "So just come out and stop hiding. Why are you even hiding?"

"Because I dislike you." _And how many times have I heard that one before?_ Sora drummed his fingers on his thigh as he waited for her. He hoped the incentive of Sephiroth would bring her out, but it actually didn't. He even thought about actually leaving and ditching her to save his own life, but he willed himself to stay.

"Don't make me go in there."

" _Pfft_ , you wouldn't dare. I'll forever label you a pervert to everyone I talk to. _Do it_." It was tempting–it really was–because no one was there to ever witness him stepping inside the girl's bathroom, but he had never stepped into it before, and today was not the day to break that. He stayed rooted against the wall of the girl's bathroom while occasionally look at his watch every ten seconds.

"Holy shit, how long does it take you to wash off shoes?" he exasperated, voice bouncing off the tiles of the bathroom. "Kairi!"

" _What!_ I'm not telling you to stay here, jerk! Go away!"

"Stop avoiding me because it's unnerving!"

"Too bad!"

"Look, I'm sorry." Sora ruffled his own hair up in frustration as he tried to look for the right words to say without his natural sarcasm screwing everything up. "Sorry about last night." His hopes of her coming out were enlightened when the water faucet was turned off, but no footsteps sounded. He continued anyway. "I wasn't right in the head."

"Well, a no brainer can figure that one out." But it was _really_ hard not to sound like an asshole. "It's okay; I did the same to you, so just _go._ "

"Not until you come out and look me in the eye and tell me it's okay because right now, I'm as convinced as a rock." No response. "Besides, if you knew what I was going to say next last night before you whacked me, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be like this."

"Like what?" Sora sighed as he recalled last night.

 _"Excuse me?" Kairi spluttered, flabbergasted. Sora laughed giddily before squinting his eyes slightly. "Well, of course, that was the first thought that came in my head, but now," Kairi backed away when he suddenly brought his face lower to hers and stared her right in the eyes. "When I look closer, it's–"_

 _"Get away from me," Kairi hissed, giving him a smack on the shoulder and a nice shove to put much needed space between them. She fanned herself while she regained herself, not expecting the attack on personal space. Sora, who was now in the clouds once more, looked around like a lost child before rubbing the back of his head, spikes of hair just bouncing slightly. It took all it could for her to not go into his car and drive away, leaving him stranded in this ghetto sidewalk. Kairi tried not to give him another smack before taking his arm and dragging him back into his car. The ride back home wasn't that eventful, for he knocked out before anything more unpleasant could happen._

"What is it that you want to say?" Sora frowned slightly; her voice sounded so much closer. Hesitantly, he stretched his hand past the girl's bathroom–it wasn't like he was going in or anything–and reached for the side. Much to his surprise, he had grabbed onto her hand and, not letting this chance go to waste, pulled her out. Stumbling out, she let out a small yelp before he stabilized her footing. She looked at him in surprise before he managed a small close-mouthed smile.

"Hey," he said.

"Don't 'hey' me. What the heck do you want to say so badly for you to stalk me in front of the girl's bathroom?" He only laughed before sighing. It was embarrassing as fuck to say and admit, but if it would make everything better, then he was willing to lose his dignity just by a little bit.

"Sorry I compared you to you-know-who." He figured he hit the spot when she suddenly went stiff and bit her bottom lip nervously.

"Whatever. Doesn't matter."

"It kind of does matter," he interjected. "I wouldn't want anyone comparing me to, I don't know, Axel or Riku either." _And another certain someone too._ "And it's not because they're just idiots." The effect he hoped for came as she laughed lightly. "It doesn't feel mighty pleasant."

"It kind of doesn't," she admitted. Sora licked his lips nervously. _Here it goes._

"I don't know why I said that either because," he looked away, "they're different from hers." Kairi furrowed her eyebrows.

"What is?" _Oh my fucking God._ She was making it so much harder. _How much of a clueless idiot is she?_

"Your eyes. They're different. To be honest, at first, when I first saw you, I thought they were almost the same, with the blue shade and all, but when I look closer..." Kairi looked away when he suddenly darted his eyes towards hers again, "There's a weird–I mean, _unique_ purple tint to it. It kind of sparkles too and–" He tried to save himself, but it failed utterly.

" _Weird?_ " she scoffed.

"Slip of the tongue, sorry."

"So are they okay to look at then?" Sora widened his eyes slightly. He did not expect her to say that at all and stumbled with his mouth as he fought for the words to say that were neither offensive nor embarrassing and awkward to say.

Meanwhile, Kairi was seriously questioning why on Earth that came out of her mouth. Before she could scrap it off as a joke, he answered her.

"If they weren't, I don't think I would say that I liked looking at them. Okay, I'm going to go now; Sephiroth's going to kill me and–okay, you get it now. We're okay now, right? Okay, bye." Sora let her go and, having finished his business in a very cluttered manner, took a step away from her and escaped the horrible situation he put himself through.

Kairi's reaction was really slow. First, she widened her eyes. Then she frowned. Finally, she felt hot as her heart suddenly raced like a tornado. She put a hand over her chest as she watched Sora run towards the gym. _No, Kairi, don't listen to what Namine says, don't listen to her, don't listen to–_

"Oh, you should start running too!" He turned around and jerked a thumb towards the gym. "I don't think his hatred for me is enough to tank your tardiness either!" Kairi mutely nodded before he turned around once more. Scratch that.

She might be interested in him. Just a little bit.

 **Hello mah readers 3 I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! To my reviewers, thank you so much for, well, reviewing! And to my silent readers who continue to read and check this regularly, thank you very much as well! Y'all boost my spirits up to continue writing :))) TTTT_TTTT I hope this chapter wasn't too bad and ughhHHH school has been bogging down on me and making me go on writer's block because my mind has been so blank nowadays! I hope more ideas will spring on my mind because I'm hella dead HAHAHA BUT I WONT GIVE UP!**

 **leave a review and tell me how it is!**


	11. Chapter 11

"Oh my God, Sora was such a skinny dweeb back then!" Xion giggled as she swirled her coffee with the thin straw. "You couldn't believe if until you saw it."

"I see," Kairi said uncomfortably as she looked down at the table as she sipped her drink. Sora scratched his head awkwardly with pursed lips, leaning an elbow on the table and looking over the window on the side. He clearly wanted to escape, whereas Kairi wondered why the hell she got in this situation in the first place. Sora glanced over at her, hoping to catch her eye apologetically, and when he did, she merely frowned and looked away angrily.

 _Well, fuck_ , Sora thought grimly as he sighed. And as Xion went on, Sora began to wonder what the heck led to this.

~5 Hours Earlier~

Sora dipped his toe into the pool and felt his whole body undergo a convulsion as the chills traveled from feet to head. Even if he was on the swim team, no human could possibly be comfortable in this ice cold water.

"Contemplating about your next belly flop?"

"Just shut it, Wakka." He grunted in agitation when Wakka just slapped him on the back before heading over to the other edge of the pool. Sora was cool with him and all, but sometimes, he got a _tad_ bit annoying whenever he got too friendly-friendly with him because, well, Sora wouldn't call him his _buddy_ or anything like that.

No, that was too close of a friendship with Wakka.

As he stretched his limbs, he couldn't help but notice all the noise to his left, and with a twitch of his right eye, he watched silently at the ruckus.

"Did anyone tell you you're a devil?" Roxas said lowly through gritted teeth as he walked around the deck in punishment. He wasn't a loner, however, as Kairi joined him in the cold death march Sephiroth was putting them through. Both of them were, once again, late to class, and they've been coming late to class so often that they've began to create a reputation as the "duo that was always and miraculously came late to doom."

"You're leaving me hanging, Roxas," she said, stretching his name on purpose to make him more irritated. "Didn't I say I would help you?"

"But I never said anything about needing assistance, Kairi," he whimpered, picking up the pace when Sephiroth looked back at them. Kairi pouted.

"C'mon."

"No."

And as they pushed and pulled, Sora was frowning deeply.

 _And when the fuck were they so close?_ He looked away when Roxas's head was about to turn towards his direction and sighed.

 _None of my business._

"Sora Hikari, how long are you going to continue to dawdle like a fool?" Sephiroth barked, snapping him awake and scaring the living crap out of him. Sora groaned under his breath before heeding his words and taking his turn on the diving board.

"No belly flop, Hikari!"

"Shut it, Wakka."

After another horrible day of PE (Sora couldn't wait to just finish this second year and get the hell out), he found himself once again in the contemplating circle of his friends as he sat against the bed on the floor of Axel's dorm, listening to the wail of Hayner and his lack of a love life.

"This is my fourth year of being single!"

"That actually sounds concerning," Riku muttered as he played shifted through songs on his playlist. Hayner sneered at Riku.

"Says the guy who has a girl every other month." Riku raised his hands up defensively, shaking his head.

"Hey, them relationships just don't work out sometimes, but I'm a man of honor: I don't cheat."

"Hayner, you're just being salty," Axel agreed, wagging a finger at the poor blonde. "It's all a game, man, and you just haven't won." Sora snickered at this.

"Axel, who are you one to talk? Everyone thinks you're freaking ga–"

" _Don't,_ " Axel interrupted dangerously, but this only made Sora laugh even harder, "you even start, boy."

"Yeah, Sora," Riku pitched in, "Besides, haven't you heard about him and Larx–" Axel scrambled over frantically on all fours just to clamp a hand over Riku's big mouth, receiving a very strange look from Sora.

"This chicken butt has nothing to say," Axel said stoically. Sora nodded.

"Right." When Sora was about to ask Hayner for further information (for some reason, he was always the last to know about these type of things), a knock on Axel's door stole his chance.

"I'll get it," Hayner said as he jumped off Axel's bed and proceeded towards the door. The moment he did, a familiar raven-haired girl popped in with a box of sour candy in her hands.

"Axel, you can't believe what I just–oh, I was not expecting a full party here." Sora widened his eyes slightly before straightening himself up a little bit against the bed post. Axel looked behind his shoulder and went away from Riku when he made sure he wouldn't say a word.

"Oh, Xion, what brings you here in the boy's territory?" he asked, perplexed. She shook the box in her hands excitedly and joined the four on the floor, plopping next to Sora. He cleared his throat and slowly scooted away from her, glad that she didn't notice the movement.

"My friend imported this Traverse Town," she explained excitedly, giving the box for Axel to read. "Traverse Town exclusively, and I know how much you like sour stuff."

"Wow, you actually got it memorized," Axel joked as he shook the contents. "Sounds like a lot. Me like." He tore at the plastic wrap excitedly to get the contents out, ready to just devour all of it. Xion giggled a bit before crossing her legs.

"What are you guys up to here on weekday like this?" she asked curiously. "Are you guys starting some sort of cult?"

"What do you take us for?" Hayner said, offended. "We're not that weird. Right, guys?"

"Naw, we're pretty weird," Riku muttered, grabbing the box away from Axel right when he opened the top. "And dude, you're gonna go sugar-high if I don't watch you. Just one piece– _one piece._ " Axel pursed his lips and accepted the one itty bitty piece of the hard sour candy that Riku held out to him. When he put it in his mouth, he instantly spat it out, landing it on Sora.

"Dude, what the fuck," Sora instantly started, standing up from his position and letting the piece fall down onto the floor. "You're freaking nasty." Axel stuck his tongue out and waved at Hayner to give him the bottle of water at his desk. Downing the thing, he wiped his mouth and glared at Riku.

"I've never tasted anything shittier than Marluxia's drunk cooking until today." Riku guffawed as he clutched his stomach, unable to keep his composure while Sora stared at the piece of candy on the floor.

"Xion, where did you get this treasure again? There's freaking cheese-flavored sour candy in here!" Riku laughed, beating the floor with a fist. "Want to try clay-flavored?"

"No, fuck you, asshole." Sora shuddered at the mere thought of sour cheese-flavored candy. _That's just plain gross._ Xion joined in on Riku's laughter, wiping stray tears from her eyes.

"I requested it just for this moment. Axel, don't worry, there's normal flavors in there too." Axel merely whimpered and retreated away from the box.

"At least pick up your trash and throw it away," Sora said, disgusted. He grabbed the box of tissues near the small desk next to his bed and chucked it at him before seating himself down again.

"To answer your question, Xion," Hayner said after things calmed down, "We're lamenting about how single I am."

"Can't vent your problems just to us, huh?" Riku said with a roll of his eyes. Xion quirked an eyebrow up.

"Why just now though?" Axel snorted water through his nose while Sora coughed out a strangled laugh that he tried to keep it in. Riku had his turn with Axel's grossness and stepped away from the flame-head. Hayner merely crawled into some corner to humor all of them and stayed there.

"You guys hurt my feelings."

"Anytime, bro."

"How interesting," Xion remarked. "Any girls out there?" Riku grinned.

"Actually, Axel here is getting something on with Larx–" he was once again shut up by Axel's hand.

"Say another word, and I will slaughter you for the birds to eat." Riku gulped before putting up his hands in silent surrender. Axel nodded approvingly before backing away once more, earning the great curiosity of Xion, but she decided to drop it.

"How's Yuna, Riku?" Riku coughed uncomfortably as he tugged at the collar of his shirt.

"Dumped me for Tidus, actually. Wait, why are you even asking now? That was two months ago."

"Does it look like I'm updated?"

"You're right. Well, now you are. My luck with girls isn't really the top."

"At least you got girls!" Xion rolled her eyes before turning to Sora. She blinked while he returned her look with a dubious one.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just questioning the physics of your hair once more." She waved a hand past a spike before frowning. "It never fails to amaze me. Anyway, what about you?" At this, Axel sent Riku a deranged look, and it didn't take Riku more than a second to understand what he meant. Sora furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

"That is an odd question you're asking me," he said uncomfortably, hoping she would take the hint–she was really starting to bother him right now. However, she only tilted her head slightly in confusion–Sora didn't know if she was doing this on purpose or not. Before she could say anything that could've potentially stabbed him in the chest, Hayner and his obnoxious self jumped in once more.

"Sora, I've seen you with hottie before, quit lying," he said slyly, returning back to the circle of friends. "I see you with her all the time now."

"Pardon?" Sora honestly did not know what he was talking about, but everyone else seemed to get Hayner's drift.

"The redhead! I saw you guys at a cafe just last week, don't you lie to me." Sora widened his eyes.

"And how do you know that?"

"He's not even denying it!" Sora pursed his lips before taking out his phone to somehow get the attention off of him, but with Hayner, that was quite impossible. Axel and Riku stared at Sora while Xion let out a small hum of thoughtfulness.

"We're just friends. And for your information, Selphie and her blonde sister were there too. It was a celebration for her freaking cat's birthday. Mr. Periwinkle or some shit like that."

"He don't got just one girl, but three!"

"Hayner, can you shut the fuck up?" Riku laughed before patting Sora on the shoulder.

"He's just sad that he has no interaction with the female species. Don't let his saltiness get to you." Sora nodded in agreement before smirking at Hayner, who merely returned back to his corner of darkness.

"This is my roommate we're talking about right?" Xion said. What freaked Sora out was how cautious and unnerved she sounded.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you dormed with her," Axel commented. "How is she?" At this question, Xion pursed her lips grimly, but she merely waved it off with a hand when Riku asked what was wrong.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said dismissingly, faking a lighthearted tone that everyone could detect. "Nothing at all."

""Doesn't sound like nothing." Xion sighed.

"It's just that she's not really what she is outside the dorm," Xion shook her head, "but no matter, no matter, isn't that everyone? Everyone has a hidden side, y'know, so." Sora gave her a weird look.

"Oh, really," Sora said, a bit confused. He did a split-second analysis of Kairi's clumsy. _Doesn't seem like she's hiding anything._ However, Xion adamantly nodded her head.

"She's kind of rude," Xion explained, tone sounding very reluctant. "It's really hard to talk to her sometimes. I've tried to be friendly with her, but I guess she doesn't really want to be friends with me. She's a little bit mean, but–oh, sorry, I'm going on a little vent here." Xion apologized quickly at the end before waving her hand to dismiss it once more. "Never mind what I say. Anyways, give me a piece! I haven't tried it." She quickly changed the subject and replaced her sullen expression with a happy one before reaching over to Riku and grabbing a piece of sour candy from the box. Sora continued to frown slightly at Xion's words and tried to match her description of Kairi with his, but it wouldn't work. _Is Xion reading her right?_ Kairi wasn't the type of person to be rude.

Scratch that–she was an annoying witch to him all the time. _What do I know?_

Of course, Sora couldn't just dismiss the whole thing as easily as Xion did, and to make it a bit more complicated for him, his phone decided to vibrate at that moment. Looking at the screen, he blinked at the text message Kairi sent him.

It was her chat box with the Vanitas guy–her ex-boyfriend, he finally remembered–she had mentioned here and there. She hadn't said anything about him ever since fight they had, so Sora was a bit caught off guard at the subject being brought up again. Reading the thing, he raised an eyebrow slightly at what he saw.

Vanitas had asked her for the password of the Netflix account they had shared–rather rudely, Sora added–and the response Kairi gave him was quite appropriate.

 _It's right up your ass. Check again._

Sora snorted in laughter as he texted her back.

 _You sure showed him where it was._

"What are you smiling about there, Sora?" Sora quickly shut it off before Riku could see who he was talking to before shoving the phone into his pocket.

"Nothing." He hated it when his friends started to make things bigger than they actually were.

"Oh really now?"

"Yeah."

"What is it?" Xion asked as she came closer to see what was going on. Sora backed away immediately. When he realized how unnatural his movement was, he cleared his throat and stood up, dusting his pants in the process. Unable to take Xion's influence over him, he decided to escape.

"I'm going to go out now."

"What, why?" Xion asked. He gulped when a disappointed face graced her features but shook his mind out of it as he texted Kairi.

"I have an appointment." Xion raised an eyebrow.

"When?" He clicked the send button.

"Made one just right now." Riku, Axel, and Hayner winced at his bluntness while Xion stared at him in slight surprise. He grabbed his windbreaker and gave them all a wave before shutting the door. Leaning against it, he heaved a huge sigh and rubbed the back of his head, wondering if he looked like a wimp in front of his friends, but he couldn't care less at the moment.

When Kairi texted her confused confirmation, he instantly felt bad for just using her as an excuse to get the hell out; he just really didn't want to be in the same room with Xion, despite having "made up" with her too.

"Kill me."

When he reached the school's cafe, he was a bit taken aback to already see her there just sitting at one of the tables while swinging her legs under the table. When she spotted him, she waved to get his attention.

"Why do I have the honor of getting called to your presence?" she joked as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. "It's cold and I don't want to anything besides locking myself up in my dorm."

"Sorry," he apologized, freaking her out a bit. He sounded quite genuine about it.

"I was just kidding," she replied slowly. "What's gotten you so uptight?" Sora leaned the side of his face against a hand as he looked at her before shaking his head slightly. Xion's words impacted him more than he liked, and he knew he shouldn't mind them that much as Kairi gave him that innocent look she always gave him.

But this was Xion he was talking about.

"Nothing much. Anyways," he signaled towards the phone on the table with his eyes, "How are things with him?"

"Oh, the asshole that deserves to get attacked by piranhas?"

"Yikes. Sure, we can refer him as that."

"I think I'm done with him," she said with a roll of her eyes. "It took way too long, but I think I can safely say that I've kicked his ass to the curb real good now after simping for a good three months since college started. I think the distance from helped too. I might have to bite back my words if I see him again, but we're literally tens of miles away–not gonna see him anytime soon." Sora raised both his eyebrows in small surprise.

"Oh, really now? What's with the sudden change of heart?"

" _Pfft_. Sudden? I think not. I went on a road of purification for the mind, Sora."

"Uh huh. And?"

"And I think I have reached enlightenment." Sora cleared his throat awkwardly. Sometimes, Kairi was a bit weird sometimes. Just a little bit.

"Alright, good for you," he turned to look at the light gray skies outside the window besides them, "Would you like to enlighten me with this enlightenment? 'Cause I think I need it too." Kairi pursed her lips, instantly figuring it to be about Xion, before taking a sip out of her cup of hot chocolate again. She then shrugged and offered him a small smile.

"I don't know, it kind of just came out of nowhere, to be honest. Your _encouragement_ ," Sora played with the cuffs of his shirt when she reminded him of the embarrassment, "kind of helped me a lot, and I started to just think about all the bad things in the world about him." Sora laughed at this.

"Besides the fact that he kind of cheated on you?"

"Don't even start, but that isn't even the worst of it." Sora grimaced.

"There's more?" Kairi shuddered as she went through everything in her mind. Sora shook his head. "If it's cancerous to bring it up, then don't."

"No, it's okay, let the world know. He was a huge playboy, but I think you already know that."

"Looks the part too. That guy's smoking," Sora admitted after seeing a photo of the guy. "Reminds me of a certain someone too," Sora joked. Kairi, who knew who he was referring to, laughed before shaking his head.

"Riku seems like a good-natured guy. But _Van_. Ugh, he just did a lot of bad things, like horrible grades and scumbag-personality and partying and clubbing and just stuff _in the hood._ " Sora grew more interested, not because of how much of a bad boy her ex-man was, but because of how the redhead even fell for the guy in the first place.

"How did you," he took held out a finger, "and him," he took out another finger from his other hand and put them together, "even hooked up in the first place? You're kind of a goo–"

"Goody two-shoes, I get it," she growled. Sora held up his hands indignantly before gesturing her to answer him. "I don't know, he was really nice to me."

"What if he was just nice to you because he just wanted to have a good one in bed with a hot girl?" Kairi gaped at him before clearing her throat, hiding her embarrassment behind her scarf. By the look on his face, he clearly did not realize how he just indirectly called her hot.

"That's what I thought too, but we managed to stay together for a good two years _and_ I still have my v-card, so. Yeah, I don't get it either," she giggled when Sora gave her an incomprehensible look. "Parents never did find out I had a boyfriend 'cause I hid him real good. They still think I've never had a boy in my life before. My sister found out, and boy, she was scary, but everything's alright now I guess. I didn't really think anyone was wrong until I found him at a club just hooking up with a chick that is now his girlfriend." With every word she said, Sora could hear the anger rising. Before she could burst, he kicked her feet softly with his to snap her out of it.

"He's a dick, that's all that matters now," he said cheekily. Kairi huffed and blew her bangs.

"You're damn right he is. That's why I just–ugh. But I think the main thing I finally just," she threw her hands up exaggeratedly in a mock table flip, "was that, slowly, I just thought about him less and started to think about y–" Sora leaned back in his chair slightly in surprise when she suddenly clamped her own mouth with her hand.

"What were you about to say?" he asked curiously, having not the slightest clue about what she almost confessed. She shook her head furiously and flushed a bit.

"Nothing. _Anyway_ ," Sora rolled his eyes at her fail to change the subject. Before she could continue to blabber about _whatever_ –he had accepted his fate as her personal vent machine ages ago– he naturally took the cup of hot chocolate out of her possessions and took a sip out of it.

Just because he can.

"I've actually never tried the school's cafe before," he admitted as he licked his lips. "It actually tastes okay." Kairi widened her eyes and immediately swiped it back.

"Get your own," she whined as she hid her face in her scarf once more.

Sadly, she found herself unable to treat Sora the way she used to for various reasons. Sora, who did not feel any different towards Kairi, blinked at her sudden docile nature and laughed.

"What's with you? You're kind of fidgety today."

"Get your eyes checked." Sora chuckled before reaching over the table and tugging her scarf down from her face with a finger.

"I can't really hear you if you just cover your mouth. I'm sorry to tell you, but it's kind of the only thing you can form words with." Kairi glared at him.

"Wow, you're so smart," she said sarcastically. "Do you know what you have a PhD in?"

"Do tell."

"Being a smart aleck. Anyways, why did you call me here? Something bothering you?" Sora formed an "o" with his mouth before giving her a very unconvincing smile.

"I just wanted to see my best friend in the whole wide world."

"Just shut up." Kairi knew better than to believe the lie he was giving her, but she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Before she could throw another witty comment at him, an unexpected someone just randomly popped in between them.

"What the, Sora, I legit just saw you fifteen minutes ago!" Kairi looked between the two, took in her words, and put two and two together, figuring out immediately why he suddenly called her to the cafe. Kairi visibly saw him stiffen in his seat as Xion walked up to their table. "What a surprise!" Sora tried not to sigh.

"What brings you here?" he asked.

"I need caffeine, and my coffee machine broke, so I cannot conjure up any more." At this, Kairi grew a bit confused.

"It is?" she blurted out without much thought. The last time she checked (which was this morning) it was working _fine._ Xion looked over at Kairi, and Kairi couldn't help but feel that it was the first time Xion even took note of her presence. She uncomfortably averted her gaze from Xion's and returned to her hot chocolate.

"It is," Xion responded cheerfully–a little bit too cheerfully. Kairi inwardly made a face. _There's nothing cheerful behind a damn broken coffee maker._

She really had nothing against Xion–totally. The more days she spent with Xion alone in their room, the more wary and uncomfortable she was with her. At first, Xion was friendly, and Kairi didn't mind to befriend her, but now things were different. Besides the odd staring Xion did (Kairi doubted she knew that _she_ knew about the stares she gave her, or else she would've stopped by now) and the cold and fake attitude she always regarded her with, what made her extremely irked was _why_ she was doing all this to her.

 _I don't think I ever did anything to this girl._

"What were you guys talking about?" she asked. Kairi tried not to roll her eyes. _None of your business._

"Stuff," Sora replied vaguely, much to Kairi's relief. Xion let out a hum before laughing.

Ten minutes passed, and Kairi found herself sitting across from both Sora and Xion as she listened to Xion's stories about their high school life that she had no interest in. Xion had taken the empty chair beside Sora without even asking and plopped right on the table with them as if they were all old pals. She watched at the corner of her eye how Sora just scooted to make space for her, but otherwise showed no complaints. It didn't take Kairi another second to realize how tight Sora was wrapped around her finger.

"I think I have pictures of him in his dark days," Xion declared as she took out her phone out of her pocket. Sora merely took it out of her hands when it surfaced and stuffed it in his own pocket.

"Can you stop showing everyone?" he complained. However, his tone was not as harsh as it should be. Kairi narrowed her eyes at him. _You should be angrier if some weird bitch is flashing your photos without your permission._ "Do you like making fun of me?"

"You were so adorable back then with the metal-framed glasses though," Xion gushed. She then turned towards Kairi to look at her. "He was a huge geek back then. Always stuck in his room with his computer. Roxas and I always had to drag him out whenever we had to go somewhere. Oh, speaking of Roxas," Kairi looked warily over Sora once more. Now he looked worse than before, but he still didn't say anything. "Do you know him, Kairi?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," she answered out of obligation. _Someone get me out of here._ "He's in calc with me." She could feel Sora bumping his feet with hers in the form of an apology, but that didn't help lighten her mood at all.

"Now that I think about it, I see you two together quite often. Didn't know you guys were friends."

"Is there a problem if we were?" Kairi replied coolly. She was starting to grow sick of Xion's busybody self, something she didn't realize before because she barely talked to her.

Not like she wanted to anyway. Xion simply shook her head and flashed a smile before placing a hand on Sora's arm and tugging on it.

"We should go somewhere together someday, like the old times. Just us three! I have a lot of ideas. There's this concert I really want to go to. Oh, and also the place we used to go on dates a lot." The more Xion talked, the more Kairi grew ticked. Sora remained silent the whole time, not at all opposing Xion's ideas. He merely sat there listening to everything she had to throw at him. Remembering Selphie's explanation about their relationship months before, Kairi couldn't help but be angry _for_ him.

"Dates?" Kairi mentioned unintentionally. She mentally punched herself in the gut. Xion looked over at Kairi again with the same look of slight annoyance–Kairi wasn't damn blind–before smiling that irritating ass smile of hers again. _Give me a fucking break._

"Sora and I used to date," she answered naturally. "But we decided being friends was the best choice." _Bullshit. Selphie told me something else._ "Now we're just amigos."

"I guess," Sora said just to play along. He fumbled with his phone to distract himself, but Xion just continued to talk. Kairi put her cup of hot chocolate down on the table, restraining herself from chucking it at the girl. _Sora, do you just let this girl walk all over you like this, holy shit._

"Do you still hang out with that Selphie chick?" Xion said, and the way she mentioned Selphie was not to Kairi's liking. Sora frowned.

"Yes, but why are you asking?" Xion shuddered before slapping his shoulder playfully.

"That girl has something against me or something. She's crazy and wild, and I just remembered she hung out with you sometimes."

"She's not crazy or wild," Kairi muttered under her breath, but she had no intention of going unheard either. Xion glanced at her before continuing.

"Every time I pass her, she just gives me death glares for no reason! It's kind of unnerving sometimes. Do you think you can tell her to ease it off?" Sora fidgeted in his seat as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sure, I guess." This was it for Kairi.

She downed her hot chocolate, slammed it down on the table, and stood up, shocking Xion and Sora.

"I think it's my time to leave," she said plainly. She gave Sora a look, who only gave an apologetic one back.

"Aw, so soon?" Xion asked. Kairi rolled her eyes–this time, she wasn't scared to hide it before pushing her chair in.

"Duty calls." However, before she left entirely, she decided to bring something along with her.

"Whoa, not the hood, not the hood," Sora stuttered as Kairi lifted him off his seat by tugging the hood of his jacket up. The chair screeched as he stood up suddenly. Remembering something in his pocket, she boldly slipped her hand inside it–much to Sora's surprise–to retrieve her phone and give it back to her roughly.

"We're both going to go, thanks for small talk," Kairi said with a fake smile before dragging Sora out of the cafe, leaving the raven-haired girl to just stare at them from behind.

"Wait, Kairi," Sora let out, staggering to keep up with her pace as she now dragged him by the arm. "Slow down, what's gotten you so grumpy again?" She stopped at an isolated place and turned around to look him in the eye. She searched his face to see if he understood what was pissing her off so much, but there was no hint at all.

"Are you always like that with her?" she blurted.

"Like what?" Kairi gestured with her hands towards the cafe in exasperation and rubbed her forehead.

"You're fucking whipped, dude. Has anyone told you that?" Sora mouthed a silent "oh" before turning his lips into a straight, grim line. He awkwardly shifted his feet on the floor.

"I didn't expect you to join the crew too."

"Wow, so I'm not the only one who sees it?"

"No, you're not." Kairi sighed.

"You can't just let her walk over you like you're some welcome mat you wipe your feet on when it's a rainy day!"

"Okay, that's a bit extreme there." Kairi put both her hands on his shoulder and shook him, and he just allowed her to vent her anger–there was no stopping a rampaging Kairi.

"You have to man up and not let that _bitch_ –yeah, that's right, I called her a bitch. It's clear as day that she's one. _Don't,_ " she gave him the death glare, "even deny it." She didn't give a shit whether or not Sora was offended or not because he needed to see the damn light. "Don't let her just tie reigns on you like that. I don't know if you can detect it, but the way she talks to you is as if you're some sort of obedient, stupid puppy."

"Easier said than done," he muttered as he grabbed her hands and pulled them down to stop shaking him. "And what the hell do you mean 'obedient, stupid puppy'?"

"Exactly what I mean, obedient, stupid puppy." Sora glared at her.

"Don't get me wrong, I kind of get the gist of it too. I'm not blind."

"Then why?"

"It's hard!" he burst, astonishing her a bit. "You should be the one who should know it the best right now, since, well, yeah." He cleared his throat, not expecting himself to just say it out like that. Kairi gave him a look of sympathy. He bit his bottom lip before sighing.

Unexpectedly, he bent down and let his forehead rest on Kairi's shoulder, causing her to stiffen up immensely.

"It's pretty hard. I'm tired. At least you don't see that dick every day. Nor are you considered good 'amigos' neither." Kairi, who felt her blood rush through her veins, wasn't sure on what to do–this close proximity was shutting down all her logical thinking–so she did what she did best.

"Get your germ-filled head off my shoulder."

"I use top notch shampoo, for your information. Plus, your best friend's heart is kind of in a volatile state right now."

"I'm not your best friend, you freak." She laughed before awkwardly patting his head, but not without noticing how soft his hair was despite the spiky look they adorned every day.

"Pity you."

"Pity me."

"Is there a sad and tragic story behind all this?"

"You're sounding like Selphie right now."

"I think it's rubbing off." Sora laughed as he lifted his head and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Why would I want to explain my life story to a stranger?" he jested.

"I thought we were best friends." Sora ruffled her head in mock affection, successfully creating a mop on top of her head, before stuffing his hand back inside his pocket and walking ahead of her towards a bench. She followed suit and sat at the opposite end of it.

"I'm always trying to avoid her," Sora admitted. He sighed and leaned back on the bench as he sat with a leg crossed. "Doesn't really work out when one of your buddies are best buddies with her."

"You mean Axel?"

"Yup. Knew each other since, I don't know, middle school? So I always have to see her, or else I'll feel bad if I just force Axel to interacting with her."

"Tough to be in the same circle of friends as your ex."

"Yup." He shrugged nonchalantly as he watched the light gray clouds shift through the sky slowly. The wind began to pick up as the sun slowly inched its way down in the west. "Nothing too exciting to say. That's about it." Kairi feigned a yawn.

"Boring," she stretched jokingly. "I was expecting some drama-filled back story."

"My love life isn't as dramatic as yours, Chicken Klutzy." She attempted to kick his leg, only for him to lift his leg up to dodge it. By now, he knew all her violent tendencies. "Of course there's more to it, and it's still not as dramatic as yours, I think. I just don't want to tell you."

"Why not?" Kairi was never the type to stick her nose into someone else's business, but for reason Kairi still didn't want to admit to herself, she just wanted to know about Sora and his...past relationship.

She just wanted to know.

"Because you don't need to know." Kairi froze. Sora stood up, ending the conversation at that. "Anyway, thanks for your time. I better get going. You should too"

"O-oh," she stuttered dumbly as she stood up with him. She shivered when a frosty breeze rustled past them, sending chills through her body. He glanced at her before chuckling softly. He took his hand out of his pocket and handed her what seemed to be a hand warmer.

"Here. You look like a walking block of ice." Kairi, who could barely utter a word, took it silently. Immediately, the warmth of the hand warmer spread through her hand and up her arm, instantly heating her up. She eagerly stuffed it in her pocket and adjusted her scarf as she muttered a thank you. With her other hand, she gave a weak wave goodbye towards him and watched him head off to wherever he needed to be. When he was completely out of sight, she heaved a large breath and fell back into the bench, feeling a bit dejected.

For a split second, a pang had crossed her heart at his response. She didn't know if she was thinking too much into it, but the way he said it sounded distant; it was as if he was drawing a fine line between them and the extent of their friendship. And now that she thought about it...

She barely knew anything about Sora.

And for the first time ever, it dawned on her that whenever the subject hit upon him, he made sure to raise the wall between them.

"He didn't have to say it like that," she muttered to herself, feeling the hand warmer in her pocket.

Despite the time they spent together as casual friends, she realized how much–or, rather, _how_ _little_ –she knew about Sora. As she recollected her memories, there was never a moment where he talked about himself; it was just her talking to him about _her_ problems, and he just kindly listened to all of her stupid rants. Never had he disclosed anything about himself, and when he came close to it, he would just cut it off, like he did a few moments ago. And when she tried to think of things she knew about him, she came up with a handful of things.

 _He's a second year. Roxas is his brother. He's captain of the swim team. His ex-girlfriend is Xion. His best friend is Riku. He's good friends with Selphie. He doesn't like his spiky hair._

 _..._

Was there anything else?

 _Wow, I don't know anything about him._ The sad thing was that he never personally told her any of these things himself–she just leeched/inferred this information out from the people and things around him. However, it wasn't her fault.

Because Sora just didn't want to share more than he had to about himself, especially to _her,_ some redhead who broke his wrist while skateboarding, because she "didn't need to know."

Remembering what Namine said, Kairi wasn't sure if her idea about getting along with Sora was a good idea anymore because she could already feel herself falling into the trap she didn't want to fall into for a second time.

She felt within her pocket again.

"It's warm."

 **Hi guys! The two-week update again sorry guys *tears* I was pretty busy with school and phew! I wanted to write more, but my writing spirit dies at around 3 AM (I shouldn't be staying up this late but) I can safely say that I'm not sure if the story is coming out the way I want it! I always re-read it and try to read it as, well, a reader for the feel of it and to see if the message is clear, but it's so hard when at the back of my mind, I know I'm the one who wrote it HAHAHA how does it feel for you guys?!**

 **Ty for all my silent readers and my reviewers once more. You guys give life to this fanfic :))) Ty for making it this far with my amateur writing!**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter 3 I'll try to pump the next chapter out a.s.a.p hehe :)**


	12. Chapter 12

"Oh my God, Namine, it's snowing." Kairi stretched her hand out from underneath the shelter the outdoor hall of the university gave her and touched a soft flake of snow that landed on her palm. She laughed lightly when it instantly melted and wiped it on her pants. Namine stared in awe at the soft, tumbling snow and giggled.

"It's pretty." It snowed at Destiny Islands too, but seeing pure, white snow against the black cement ground rather than on the sand near the beach shores was a sight to behold for the sisters. With the after school bell having already rung, the snow began to get trampled by the feet of students pouring out the doors. "It's already December."

"Yup. Semester's almost over and exams are coming. Kill me."

"Speaking of exams..." Kairi covered her ears to block out Namine's dreadful reminder while shaking her head in denial.

"Don't remind me." As the semester progressed, a very unfortunate revelation dawned on her when she desperately tried not to accept it.

She barely understood anything in calculus. Currently fighting the class with a B-, Kairi had to do great on the final exam, or a big, fat, honking C was going to be sent back home and everyone will question why she was even at this top-notch university in the first place.

"Why is it so hard in college? I swear it was easier in high school!" Namine sighed as she adjusted her bag strap.

"That's high school, Kairi." Kairi clutched Namine's arm and turned her so that she could look her right in the eyes. Namine gulped–she knew that borderline-psychotic look on her sister way too well.

"Please help me study, oh Master Namine, calculus goddess. You are my only savior." Namine slowly lifted her free hand up and grasped Kairi's, pulling it down just as slowly. She then patted her on the shoulder, much to Kairi's dismay because this was the pat of disappointment she was all too familiar with.

"I really, _really_ want to help you, Kairi, but I have physics to go over too," Namine said, biting the inside of her cheek. "It's super hard, and I'm either going to make it or break it on this exam, so–" Kairi sighed and shook her head. She managed a weak smile and in turn gave Namine a pat on the shoulder.

"It's okay, I understand. I will somehow endure this pain alone." There was only one reason why Kairi didn't continue bothering her loveable sister.

~25 minutes later~

"Roxas!" The blonde, who was walking with a couple of his friends Kairi never saw before, instinctively reacted to his name being called and turned around. From a few feet away was Kairi shuffling her stiff figure against the cold and towards him. Right when she was nearly in front of him, she tripped excitedly on plain nothing.

"Whoa there," Roxas breathed, pale as he grabbed Kairi by the arms. His duffel bag slipped off his shoulder and hit the ground with a thud as Kairi hauled herself up using his arms.

"Roxas, are you busy?" she said super fast, looking up at him sparkly eyes. She didn't even care about how she nearly had a face plant right on the cement ground. Roxas turned his head back towards his friends and signaled them to go ahead first before looking back at Kairi.

"I don't think I am, usually," he answered cautiously, swinging his duffel bag back on his shoulder. "Why?"

"Roxas, o' mighty genius–"

"I don't like the sound of this."

"–please lead me to the right path to passing math class." She clasped her hands together and continued to look at him, mustering the best puppy dog eyes she could. The chance of him rejecting her plead was very, very probable.

 _I mean, I've been badgering him about his love life that is, like, none of my business._ Yes, ever since their encounter with the books and all a few weeks ago, she did not seize to give him a breather as she bombarded him with the usual interrogations nonstop. Since Roxas was, again, a super duper nice guy–Kairi wondered where this niceness was coming from because he could share some with most of the guys here–he didn't really ever blow her off, but clear marks of irritation sometimes peeked out from him when he chose to ignore her.

"We're friends, aren't we?" she continued when he gave her a strange look.

"Um, I guess," he answered awkwardly. "Depends though. When and where? I'm not really a good tutor, so I might not be the best cho –"

"That's what all the geniuses say," Kairi waved off dismissively, shaking her head in the process. She slightly bowed to him, freaking him out a lot. "I just need a tenth of your brain power, and I'll be good to go."

"Kairi," he whined a bit, looking around a bit as a few people walked by and glanced at them. "Okay, I'll do it, so just lift your head up. I look like I'm coercing you to do bad things or something." Kairi instantly whipped her head back up and gleamed at him with her sparkly eyes against his defeated ones. He groaned when Kairi patted his back rather painfully in thanks.

"I knew you were a great guy, Roxas." She didn't know why, but bullying Roxas was a very easy thing to do, despite him being her underclassman. _Maybe because he's feeble as hell._

And so, Roxas's delightful tutoring sessions began after school every day at the library.

"No, why are you doing that, you're not supposed to do that," Roxas exasperated as he tapped her paper with the eraser end of his pencil. "You can't do that."

"Wait why, what the fuck?"

"You're doing simple algebra mistakes, that's why you're so freaking–" he stopped midsentence and a look of slight horror crossed his features when he realized that he was about to insult someone.

Roxas Hikari simply does not insult someone.

Kairi narrowed her eyes at him as he sheepishly covered his mouth.

"What were you about to call me, you brat?" she hissed. Roxas smiled apologetically and continued to point out her mistakes in his once-again calm nature. Despite what he had said earlier, he was surprisingly very thorough with his explanations. Instead of taking big leaps and assuming she understood certain parts she clearly did not understand, he took her step by step and made sure she wasn't lost in anything. Kairi made a mental note to give him something in return one day.

 _My sister._ She cackled evilly out of nowhere, freaking the hell out of Roxas once more. Though, this wasn't the first time Roxas thought Kairi as a bit of a weirdo.

"Nam–I mean, Kairi. Okay, here, you have to–" Roxas tried to play it cool and continue, hoping Kairi wouldn't catch his slip up once more, but Kairi wasn't an idiot.

"Were you just about to call me 'Namine'? Bro. _Bro._ " She just loved messing with Roxas. He blushed profusely and covered his face with the math prep book in his hands.

"You're such a bully. Wait until my friends get a good laugh at how I'm bullied by some freshman once they see me."

"I just can't help it. It's my _sister._ You know, what do you like her about her?" Roxas let the pencil slip out of his hands as he gaped at Kairi.

"I never said anything about liking her, okay?"

"Who am I going to tell, huh? Who in the world am I going to tell?"

"Obviously who do you think?" Roxas scratched the back of his head nervously as he suddenly lowered his face down to the table, leaning the side of his head on his upright arm. "I don't know, okay? I mean, I've never been enamored with a girl before, so it's hard to say." Kairi perked her ears up as she tapped the edge of the table with her pencil.

"I don't know about you, but I think she's pretty."

"Well, I mean, it's not just that," Roxas blushed before sitting upright again and fiddling with his hands. "She holds intellectual conversations well and seems like a very nice, kind, and gentle person. She's interested in a lot of the things I'm interested in, like, I don't know, figuring super hard physics problems together. I don't know, I find her charming and–I hate you." Roxas stopped his rambling when he saw the way Kairi grinned from ear to ear.

"Looks like someone has fallen. _Bad._ "

"Whatever."

"Holy crap, there she is now right behind you." Roxas instantly stiffened and grasped his math book instinctively, immediately eliciting laughter from Kairi. When he realized how he had been deceived he rubbed his hands over his face.

"You're having too much fun."

"I can't help it!" she said in between laughter, putting her face onto the table. Sliding her arm, she accidentally knocked her pencil case over the table, causing it to spill her pens and pencils all over the floor. "Shit."

Lifting her head from the table to gather everything back up, she stopped in her tracks when familiar spiky hair entered her view when she reached halfway to pick them up.

"Oh," she let out dumbly, not expecting to see Sora at all at the library afterschool. He had been coincidentally walking by when her pencil case fell right near his feet.

"Let's stop dropping things, shall we?" he greeted gruffly as he slid his biology textbook onto her table and helped pick everything up. In less than a second, her spilled pencil case was back on top of her table, pens and pencils all neatly zipped and packed inside. Kairi unconsciously tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear.

"Thanks." Kairi didn't know why, but after the whole incident last week, she just felt so _awkward._ He cocked an eyebrow up, sensing something was...different about her. However, because it was so slight, he carelessly dismissed it in less than a second. He did a quick glance at Roxas, who was suddenly absorbed in doing practice in his math prep book.

Right when he was about to walk away and go back to his own business, Kairi suddenly sparked up an unwanted conversation–he just wanted to skedaddle.

"I don't usually see you here?" she blurted. "Did you always stay afterschool at the library?"

"It's exam season," he deadpanned, looking at her as if she had grown two heads. "I'm studying, and so is everyone else sitting here." Kairi looked around, and sure enough, the library was packed. Oops–she hadn't noticed. "Furthermore, why are you here?"

"Can't you see?" she waved flapped her cover of her calc textbook, "I'm studying too."

"You don't really seem like the type."

"What does that mean?" Sora chuckled before shrugging.

"I think you know yourself better than I do." He stuck his tongue out before taking his leave, not letting Kairi have the chance to say anymore. When his figure instantly disappeared behind one of the bookshelves, Kairi heaved a heavy hearted sigh.

 _Are we friends or not?_

"Roxas, I need help on this problem."

~.~.~

"Mixer?" Sora spluttered, staring at Axel incredulously. "Excuse me?" He had just exited out the library, only to be bombarded by his friends.

"Hey, if you don't hit it with the girls at parties, you have to at mixers. I got some a few hook ups with the girls from the south college, and boy," Riku blew a low whistle as the usual gang hung by the corridors of the university. "They're smoking."

"Not interested," Sora deadpanned. "Riku, God, give it a break. You've been single for only three weeks after what's-her-name dumped you. _Give it a break._ "

"'Only three weeks'? Pardon me, good sir, but that's a very long time for a hot guy like me."

"We swear we're not trying to hook you up with anyone," Hayner said, a bit too quickly. Sora narrowed his eyes at the dirty blonde. He wouldn't be surprised if it was because his friends had the annoying habit of nosily digging into his social life.

"That sounds fucking convincing."

"Okay, honestly, we're really not this time," Axel countered. "The whole world is not centered on you, man. We're missing a person for the mixer, so why not you come along? Meet new people. That's literally the college life besides the whole striving-for-the-future thing."

"Well, it is the whole 'striving-for-the-future' thing because final exams are literally in three weeks," Sora responded irritably.

Riku coughed.

"Nerd."

"We all are if we go to this college, so shut up."

"So will you go?"

"If it won't last too long, sure." His friends gave out a whoop in victory and patted Sora on the back.

"You won't have a bad time."

"I doubt it, but okay." Sora realized he was a bit too influenced by his wild friends. Before he could say anymore, Hayner started to hit him repeatedly in an excited manner.

"Hottie at one o'clock." Sora glanced at who he was referring too and snickered.

"It's the same girl you failed it with during the welcoming party. Do yourself a favor and avert your eyes somewhere else to save yourself from another possibly life-scarring experience." Remember Namine's expression when Hayner nearly splashed juice onto her white dress, Sora couldn't believe how lame his friend was.

"I can't with the freshman this year. They're really the smokin' bacon, if you know what I mean," Riku commented as he watched Namine walk across the garden towards the girl's dormitories.

"Are girls all you guys talk about? It's starting to bug me," Sora chided as he sighed. He wondered how he was able to tolerate all of them with their testosterone-high selves. Riku couldn't afford to be single, Axel was rumored to be gay when he actually wasn't, and Hayner was just dying from the lack of a love life. "Why can't we talk about something more productive? Like, I don't know, global warming or something. _Anything,_ 'cause y'all are starting to annoy me with your girl checkouts."

"Like you don't do them," Riku retorted. "Hey, I mean, until I get a serious girlfriend–"

"Did I just hear Riku say 'serious' and 'girlfriend' in one sentence? Holy moogles..." Axel mumbled.

"–I'm going to be on the lookout for _the_ one."

"How many times have you said that already? And pardon me? When the heck did I ever become a player like you?"

"You have never explained your new friendship with Kairi Lockhart. She's literally starting to become known at how _gorgeous_ she is. I usually call a person hot, but I just used another word other than 'hot' and that's a feat. You have to admit that," Riku explained, crossing his arms. Sora tugged at the collar of his shirt. His friends have been all skittish about this subject, and him ten times more (for he could not understand why they kept fussing about the redhead–what is really that weird?), but they've never gone this straight to the point before.

"What are you talking about? I answered you this question so many times already? There's nothing going on."

"Yeah right, and I have four eyes on my two butt cheeks," Axel said with a roll of his eyes. "Want to s–"

"Keep your pants on," Sora interrupted when he saw Axel loop two fingers inside his pants and attach them on his waistband. "And seriously," he looked all his friends in the eyes, "I don't know what you're assuming, but the klutz and I are not like that."

"That's the second time you've said that in less than a span of a minute." Sora sighed and decided to explain everything thoroughly, hoping this would be the last time his friends would annoy him.

"I don't know, she's just a freshman. I find her like a little kid I need to look after, since she gets into so much trouble," Sora admitted. "And as for our 'comfy relationship', I think y'all are looking into it way too much." Sora stayed quiet for a second, looking for a comparison his friends would understand, before a light bulb lighted up.

"Like a goldfish!"

All three of his friends' jaws dropped to the ground.

"Hey, this maniac just compared a hot chick to a fucking goldfish," Hayner said loudly for Sora to hear on purpose as he nudged Axel and Riku with the elbow. "A fucking _goldfish._ " Sora scratched the back of his head.

"I mean, I have to admit, she's kind of cute. But in a way that I find goldfish cute."

"Sora, do you honestly know what you're saying right now?" Riku said, a bit concerned. He reached his hand towards Sora's cheek, which Sora slapped away immediately.

"Stop creeping me out, holy shit. I'm right in the head, you guys don't have to worry about that," Sora shuffled with his feet, "All the times we hung out, I never thought anything more of her. Her presence just feels a bit more natural than other girls that I know, so I kind of like hanging out with her." _Also because I can't leave her alone for some reason (maybe because her whole existence is just so amusing and entertaining)._ But he decided to keep that secret thought to himself. "Kind of like how goldfish are nice to have around. That's it."

"Say that to your future girlfriend as a pick up line and expect to get fucking slapped," Axel said with a shake of his head. "Sora, you're so weird."

"Whatever. Okay, you got your answer. Stop asking me the same question all the time," Sora dismissed before heading down the direction of the hallway. "It's getting pretty late. I need to catch a nap and study." As he headed out, with his friends close behind, he didn't notice Kairi emerge from one of the corners from the library's direction. With pencil in hand, she easily snapped it half.

"A fucking goldfish?"

Accidental easedropping was not fun. She had walked in at the moment where Riku had asked Sora the question so blantly. Her heart beat a bit quicker until, of course, the more-than-disappointing answer came out of the idiot's mouth. She was expecting him to at least call her his _friend_.

But goldfish?

 _Goldfish?_ Then she stopped herself.

 _Why should I be so bothered?_ Kairi shook her head to snap herself out of it and gave herself a light pat on the cheek.

"Stop, Kairi Lockhart, stop."

When her phone rang, she snapped out of her short moment of rage and answered it.

"What's up, Selphie?"

"Karaoke. Next week. You're in." Before Kairi could even ask what Selphie was talking about, she just hung up right after she delivered the news. Kairi gaped at her phone as the brief "call ended" screen appeared before shoving it back in her pockets.

Sometimes, Selphie just liked to drag people in her own pace.

~.~.~

"Shit!"

"Roxas!" Nearly the whole cross country team winced when they watched, in slo-mo, the accident as the blonde caught his foot in a small hole on the field and fell flat down onto the grass. Immediately, a few of his teammates jogged towards him to help him up.

"This is why you don't run across this gopher-destroyed field," he heard his coach mutter before he headed back towards the boy's locker room. Roxas groaned slightly as two of his teammates heaved his arms around their shoulders.

"Wait, wait, something's up with my foo–ow, ow, wait!" Roxas hissed in pain as he supported himself. Attempting to rotate his ankle, he nearly cussed when a streak of lightning pain ran through his leg.

"Did you sprain your ankle? Wait, I don't even need to ask that," one of his teammates, Marluxia, commented. "It's already starting to swell."

"Close call," whistled Xigbar, another one of his teammates. "Our last meet was just yesterday, so you sprained your ankle at the right time."

"I don't think it's ever the right time to sprain my ankle," Roxas whimpered before signaling with his head towards the infirmary. "Can you guys help me get over there? I need to ice it."

Although, he would've went somewhere else if he knew that Namine was a volunteer for the health committee.

"Whoa there," she let out breathily when Roxas and his two teammates burst through the doors of the infirmary while she was packing away a few things in a first-aid kid. Before she could ask what was up, the restrained look of pain on Roxas's face was enough of a hint for her.

"Got ice?" Marluxia said gruffly as he settled Roxas down to the nearest bed. "He sprained his ankle." Namine raised her eyebrows slightly by surprise and made eye contact with Roxas in amusement. In turn, Roxas rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and just looked strictly at the floor.

"Thanks for bringing me all the way over here, guys. Go get changed," Roxas said gratefully. Marluxia and Xigbar gave him a light punch on the shoulder before heading out. Namine rummaged through the fridge for ice cubes and slid them inside an ice pack before she came over to his bed and sat herself down on the chair in front of him.

"What happened here?" she asked as she handed him the ice pack. He gave her a nod in thanks before taking it out of her hands and placing it on the swollen ankle.

"Accident during practice," Roxas said rather vaguely; he didn't really want to embarrass himself with the fact that his foot fell into a stupid gopher-made hole. Namine merely gave him a look before shrugging slightly to herself. She returned back to her original duty and began to look through the different cabinets of the infirmary while Roxas continued to ice his ankle.

"Didn't know you were part of the health committee?" Roxas said when the silence began to settle in.

"I help out when I have the time."

"I see." Roxas shifted his ice pack around, once again awkward with the blonde girl. She worked nimbly with her fingers without even sparing Roxas another second glance. He contemplated whether or not he should make a break for it (for the girl suddenly decided to act like he wasn't there) and leave the discomforting atmosphere, but at the same time he didn't want to either. He continued to watch her every moment, noticing how the sunlight washing over from the window reflected off her silky blonde hair.

 _She's so pretty._ Roxas blinked before he shook his head furiously to kick out those thoughts. _No._

"Are you okay?" He let out a cough in surprise as he choked on his own saliva when Namine turned towards him to witness his little mental mishap.

"Never been better."

"Right." Roxas would've been mentally stable once more if Namine hadn't started to look him over. Her blue eyes scanned him until they landed back on his own blue eyes, her face a bit contorted from trying to figure something out.

"Is there something...wrong?" He couldn't help asking. Namine blinked three times before chuckling nervously.

"Sorry, but you just look familiar somewhere."

"I mean, we have met before, and–"

"I didn't mean that, Sherlock." Roxas closed his mouth and decided not to say anything more unintelligent in front of her. She shook her head lightly, her locks of hair swaying a bit at the movement. She took a step closer towards him for better inspection and put her hands to his hips, causing Roxas to back away a bit. Right before he decided to ask his question again, she gasped in realization.

"Roxas Hikari, as in, _Roxas Hikari_?" Now he was very confused.

"Um–"

"I've seen your face on the newspapers before with your father," she explained, a little twinkle in her eyes. "Inventor of the Keyblade? Creator of the most popular sport in the world right now? I'm a huge fan of your dad, holy gosh, why didn't I make the connection before?"

"Oh, you didn't know before?" He nervously smoothed out his hair and looked away as her fangirling mode started to activate. Usually, people would already know who he was, and she had assumed that she had already knew too by now, but that clearly wasn't the case now.

"I'm not really aware of these kinds of things," she said, a bit embarrassed. Roxas tried not to make anything big out of her words, but he couldn't help but realize that she hadn't really noticed him at all. "But now I'm starting to make the connection here!"

"I see."

"I've always watched videos and competitions of Keyblade duels, since I haven't had the chance to really try it out," blabbered Namine. "Super rad sport, but I'm more interested in the whole tech behind it actually. Like, how do you digitally generate all the effects in arena? And, oh my gosh, to be able to feel the effects too! Does the firaga actually feel like fire when you cast the mag–I am so sorry, I'm running off here, and–"

"No, no it's okay," Roxas quickly assured her, finding her rambling a bit entertaining. "Haven't really met someone who was interested on how it works, so I'm kind of interested to hear what you've got to say." Namine bit her bottom lip shyly as she looked away and tucked a few strands of her behind her ear, showing her pearl earrings more clearly.

"Historical advancement in technology, how could anyone not be interested!" She sat on the chair again and wheeled it closer in front of Roxas, who grew more nervous, but she didn't notice. "From the innovative creation of the Keyblade to the creation of a sport almost everyone who tries it enjoys, it really is something to study about! Tell me, do you know anything about how the tech works? I'm going through an array of things in my mind right now, and, whoa–how does it work at all?"

"Well," he cleared his throat, "I don't know how the whole system works, but since I helped coding some of the programs, I can–" He felt his heart jump in his chest when Namine suddenly stood up and knocked over her chair. With widened eyes, she clasped her hands together in delight and jumped a bit in excitement.

"What did you just say? Oh my gosh, doesn't that mean you kind of had some part in the creation? Am I meeting the secret inventor right now, oh my moogles, this is–"

"No, no you're fangirling over the wrong person," Roxas immediately cut in. "I know only a little. If anything, you should talk to someone else if you want to know more, since he did more than me." At this, Namine frowned.

"Who else?" Roxas rubbed the back of his head.

"Sora, my cousin."

~.~.~

"Selphie, final exams are literally next week," Kairi whined as the brunette pulled her by the wrist towards the karaoke bar downtown. "I need to _study_ , not _party_. You do too." Kairi would've enjoyed the pure white snow on the ground and the holiday lights hung up on the branches of trees and the wreathes hanging on the front doors of a few shops if not for the urgency of her grade killing her inside.

"Our university is literally the only one in the area who starts break a week after everyone else. Now's the season to party and meet new people! A friend of mine invited me–I think you know her too, Aqua?–and I don't want to feel awkward alone. She knows a couple of people from other places, so socializing time!"

"Why didn't you drag Namine along too, and all your other friends?"

"They need to study."

"I need to study too!"

"You've been doing that with hottie boy for the past two weeks. One day of fun won't hurt you," Selphie casted off dismissively. "Getting lessons from him are more than enough too, so you're good."

"I know my brain better than you do, and I can tell you one thing–it's not good enough."

"Whatever, party pooper. Let's have some fun! I heard a few of Aqua's friends from Destiny Islands are here too for vacation. Are there hot boys over there? I'm excited!"

"Keep dreaming." Kairi felt a bit unnerved at the small chance of seeing someone she knew back at her home place, but she chuckled a bit.

"Not a chance."

Although, she wasn't expecting to see someone she did know (but didn't want to see) that was not from her homeland standing near the biggest karaoke bar Kairi had ever seen in her life.

"Sora!" Selphie squealed, ditching Kairi's side to give the said brunet a huge bear hug. Only having enough time to turn his head to whoever called him out, he nearly fell backwards because of the hyper girl and unsteadily balanced himself again.

"What the, Selphie?" he let out, slipping his phone into his pocket. He awkwardly returned her hug before prying the girl gently off of him and frowned at her. "Shouldn't you be studying?"

"I said the same thing," Kairi said under her breath as she awkwardly waited for the two to finish their greeting. Selphie crossed her arms and dramatically flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"I got it in the bag."

"Right." Sora glanced past Selphie and offered a very minute smile towards Kairi's direction in a silent greeting–they hadn't talked for a while.

"What are you doing here, Sora?" Selphie asked, tilting her head curiously to the side.

"Friends dragged me again," he said with a roll of his eyes. "You know the whole cycle already."

"Well, thank your friends for me because you need to see the light of day more often. You're always coping inside your unknown apartment nowadays."

"It's unknown for a reason so that the likes of you won't suddenly crash." He laughed as Selphie slapped him on the side of his arm. Her phone rang in her purse from a load of text messages before she rapidly responded to them back.

"Wait, let me see if my friends are here. Hold on, Kairi!" Before Kairi could say a word in protest, she found herself left alone with Sora for the first time in a while. Ever since his distant behavior the other time, she never found it natural to go up and talk to him despite seeing him pass by sometimes on campus.

"Are you feeling the Freshman 15 yet?" he started, stuffing his hands inside his pockets and smirking a bit as he watched Kairi munch on a few fries she had gotten with Selphie just earlier. Kairi gaped at him.

"Are you trying to say I gained weight?"

"No, of course not. I mean, I think I see a few flabs of extra meat here, though," he playfully pushed her forehead with a finger, earning a growl from the ferocious redhead. "Have you been cramming for finals? I see the dark eye bags of death on you."

"No, I haven't, for your crucial information," she replied with narrowed eyes. "I study rather responsibly, mind you."

"You're funny." His eyes averted away from her own for a split second before he took a hand out and pointed to his head. "You got something on your head." Kairi frowned as she patted her head.

"Where?" Sora took a hand out of his pockets and reached out towards her, freaking her out for a split second. She felt a small shiver run down her spine when she felt his fingers run through her locks before she yelped in pain.

"Did you just yank my hair, you bastard?" she exclaimed, clutching her head. Sora adorned a guilty look as he flicked the dead leaf that somehow found itself lodged in between her hair and shuffled his feet on the snow.

"I was trying to slide the leaf out, but your hair seemed more tangled than it actually looked."

"So are now are you trying to say my hair is a mess?" Sora frowned.

"Why are you suddenly attacking me for?" Kairi, copying Selphie's dramatic hair flip, threw her hair over her shoulder and, much to his surprise, flipped him the bird for a second.

"Do I look gold to you?"

"Pardon?" Kairi left him lost for words as she entered the karaoke bar, letting the spiky brunet gape at her. He always found a way to piss her off.

But lately, she found herself a little bit too sensitive around him now.

 _Damn it._

After five minutes, she found the room Selphie was in and entered it to find a bunch of unknown faces staring at her, both boys and girls.

"Oh, yes, this is the new freshman friend I was talking to you about," Selphie squealed as she pulled Kairi down to sit next to her. The room was uncomfortably dark as the lights flickered with the song that was going on at the moment.

"Nice to meet you formally, Kairi," Aqua, the upperclassmen who Kairi recognized was in a few of her classes (especially Sephiroth's), gave her a hand which Kairi happily shook.

"I'm Terra, and the rest are not special," an unfamiliar guy greeted jokingly. "Most of us here are locals from the other colleges around here, but there are a few weird specimens here from Destiny Islands on vacation." Kairi gave a quick observation on everyone's face and sighed inwardly in relief when she didn't really recognize anyone.

"Excuse me, weird specimen?" a tan girl spluttered in ridicule. "That's what you say after our heartfelt reunion?"

"Apparently, they're all friends that went to high school together or something," Selphie whispered to Kairi. "So don't feel too left out at all the chumminess."

"Huh, I'll try not to." _I need to study._

"We're actually missing a person, but he'll be here soon."

And so, a lot of horrible singing pursued after all the introductions were made. Kairi simply sat by the sidelines, sipping on her iced tea as she watched everyone make a fool out of themselves with the mic. Of course, Kairi wasn't having an entirely bad time; it was quite entertaining to hear Selphie sing rock songs passionately with her short hair bobbing around everywhere.

 _Maybe it isn't too bad to take a break._

"Hey, Kairi," Kairi turned her head to face Rikku, the very tan but very pretty girl that was also from Destiny Islands.

"Oh, hey." Kairi tried not to look too weirded out when Rikku kept staring at her face, as if she was trying to put together puzzle pieces.

"I know we've never met before–I'm sure I would know whether we have or not–but you look kind of familiar?" Kairi frowned and shook her head.

"I've never seen you before, so maybe you're getting me confused with someone else?" Rikku shook her head, placing her glass of soda on the table that was in the middle of all the chaos.

"No, I'm sure I wouldn't confuse you with just anyone; there aren't many redheads that I know." Rikku put a hand to her chin as she continued to observe Kairi before realizing how she was making Kairi very uncomfortable. "Sorry, sorry."

"No, it's okay, I do the same actually." _Not really._ White lies don't hurt too much.

"Hey, Kairi, you haven't sang anything this whole time!" Selphie shoved a songbook to Kairi and handed the mic to her. "C'mon, loosen up! You look like a grandma watching over her kids in the corner." Kairi shook her head, putting the songbook back onto the table and handing the mic back to Selphie.

"I'm not a very good singer. I'll make your ears bleed with my screeching."

"Kairi, have you not heard Terra this whole time?" Aqua remarked, jerking a thumb towards said person who was perusing through the second songbook. "He sings like a dying goat with pride; you can't do worse than him."

"Dying goat? Really? You just can't see true, raw talent." Kairi laughed along with everyone else before shaking her head for the final time.

"Maybe later. Here, let me go to the bathroom real quick."

"Alrighty." Kairi settled her glass down and swiftly exited out the crazed room for a breath of fresh air.

Inside, Rikku wouldn't rest with the subject.

"Hey, Selphie, what's her last name again?" Selphie blinked.

"Lockhart, why?" Rikku didn't answer as she took out her phone to do some Facebook stalking.

Although, the results weren't really spectacular.

"Holy fuck, she needs to get out of here."

At the same time Kairi turned the corner after exiting, Sora exited from the room in the same hallway as hers at the opposite end. Horribly drenched in orange soda, he shut the door rather harshly to let everyone in the other side of it know, including his friends, how agitated he was. One of the girls had been trying too hard to get on him and instead dumped the contents of her glass when another one of her wild friends accidentally shoved her on him.

Now, he was on an adventure to find towels from the staff while looking like an idiot with sticky orange soda drenching him on the chest and pants.

Reaching near the front desk, one of the staff gasped at the mess and hurriedly accepted his request for towels. Sora sighed and leaned against the counter as he waited for the girl to return.

"Um, excuse me?" Sora looked up from his phone and was a bit taken aback to see someone who matched his line of sight other than Roxas. He didn't want to brag or anything, but he considered him a little bit taller than average, so seeing someone as tall as him–or even a bit taller–was a pleasant surprise.

"May I help you?" Sora took in the guy's peculiar appearance. With midnight black hair and tanned skin that could not possibly be obtained in Twilight Town, he emitted a very sexy and dangerous type of aura that kind of intimidated Sora.

And Sora Hikari does not get easily intimidated.

"I don't really know this place, so do you know where this room is?" he asked, much to Sora's surprise, politely. 6He handed Sora the slip of paper everyone gets to direct them to their designated room.

"Oh yeah, I do," Sora said with a small smile. It was in the same hallway as his room. "It's actually down there, then turn to your first left. It should be right at the corner when you turn."

"Thanks, man."

"No problem." The guy gave Sora an amused look. At first, Sora didn't understand why, but he remembered the mess he was in.

"Spilled orange soda."

"Ah, that sucks. Get it cleaned soon."

"Sure will." The black-haired guy said his thanks one last time before disappearing. Sora frowned as he felt a familiar sensation pass through his mind. He couldn't put his mind to it, but he felt like he had seen the guy before, although he quickly shook his thoughts out when he saw Kairi, who emerged from the bathroom that was across the counter right after the guy disappeared. The first thing she noticed when her eyes landed on his figure was the oddly shaped discoloring of his gray shirt. She had to take a few steps closer to realize that it was soda.

"Seems like someone got involved with another accident," she snickered as she called him out. Sora stuck his tongue out at her.

"Whatever." Finding nothing else to say to him, Kairi hurried back to her room while Sora accepted the towels the staff had finally given him. However, before she could completely disappear from his sight, as she turned the corner, she harshly rammed into someone who had been trying to turn from the other side as well. Losing her balance, she tipped back.

Sora instinctively took one step forward when he saw the motion, but stopped in his tracks when a hand had already shot out to help her feet get back on flat ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that, I should've looked at where I was go–Kairi?" Kairi felt her blood run cold when an all too familiar voice caressed her name with its smooth and velvety tone. The warm hand that had grabbed the side of her arm to stabilize her back to her feet burned her as it loosened its hold and dropped back to his side.

No, she couldn't look up. She stared at her feet and his, wondering if she was just imagining things–she hadn't even looked up to see his face. She felt her lips move and the pop music that blasted quietly through the speakers of the lobby, but she could not hear anything. All she could feel was the cold sweat and the stiffness of her bones and her heavy heart as she shakily took a step back.

 _I might have to bite back my words if I see him again, but we're literally tens of miles away–not gonna see him anytime soon._

Kairi wished she hadn't jinxed herself.

"Vanitas, you're here!" Rikku's voice called from the corner. "Dude, you can't believe it, but your–fuck." She clamped both her hands over her mouth when she turned the corner, realizing she was a tiny bit too late. Selphie, curious on what got Rikku bolting out the door, followed suit, only to witness a frozen Kairi, a surprised black-haired guy standing in front of her, a Rikku looking like she was about to blow, and a confused Sora standing near the counter watching the whole thing unfold.

"What's going on?" Kairi couldn't help but remember an unpleasant memory–a memory she couldn't help but incorporate with his existence forever.

 _"You're going to another party today? I disapprove."_

 _"You always disapprove, but have I ever done bad things? It's just for my buddy's birthday. Don't worry too much." Kairi crunched his fingers together as she held his hand, causing him to wince in pain. The two of them were on their daily stroll afterschool at the beach, something they've always done._

 _"Hm, how about I go with you to supervise you?" Kairi wanted to test the waters, since he never seemed to feel comfortable whenever she suggested it. As predicted, he shook his head._

 _"No, don't. That sort of place doesn't really fit you. I like you on the field when you're running. You're amazing on the field, Kai'." Kairi rolled his eyes at his sweet talk, but let the matter drop; it wasn't the first time he adamantly, yet gently, refused her company._

 _Besides, it was okay. She trusted him._

 _"You're right. Plus, I don't like parties either. I don't know why you do the things you do sometimes. Anyway, don't go getting all smashed. I don't like it when you drink."_

 _"When was the last time I drank, you idiot? I stopped after you kept nagging me."_

 _"Good." Kairi smiled. "You make me worry sometimes, but you're slowly turning into a good boy. That's good." When she least expected it, Vanitas tugged at her hand and swooped down to give her a quick kiss on the lips._

 _"I'm not really a good boy, babe," he whispered to her ear. She felt her ears heat up before she let go of his hand and jabbed him at his side with her elbow. He bent over in pain as she walked ahead of him in victory._

 _"What did I say about PDA, blockhead?"_

 _"Sorry, m'am." Kairi turned around and giggled before giving her hand to him again._

 _"That's right. Good boy."_

 _On the same day, she received a concerning text message from one of her friends a couple hours later._

 _ **hey, your bae needs a bit of help. he got a bit hammered. you should take him home.**_

 __ _"And he told me he wasn't going to drink," Kairi muttered. However, she quickly decided to forgive him–it was his best friend's birthday, so she'll let him off this time. Sighing, she told her family that she was going to be out for a while before heading to where the party was at._

 _She wished she didn't._

 _When she entered the place, she didn't take as long as she thought she would to find him._

 _Only to find him kissing some other girl she couldn't quite recognize in the dark lighting._

 _At first, she dismissed him._ _ **That's not Vanitas.**_ _However, when she casted a look at the hand that was on the girl's hip, she felt her heart sink._

 _On his arm was the white leather bracelet she had given him. Inscribed on it were the letters "V x K."_

 _There was only one thing she could do at that moment._

 _Run._

 _At the same night, she gave him one curt text message._

 _ **We're over.**_

 _In the next morning after hours of crying herself to sleep, she checked to see his reply._

 _ **I thought it was about time anyway.**_

She took a few small steps back from the man who ripped her heart in two within the span of a few hours like it was nothing. She couldn't face him, nor lift her head up to see what he looked like. Maybe if she didn't see his face, she could forever only remember him as a blur of the past. He was unpleasant to remember too.

But inside, she was curious to know what he looked like. How was he now? They hadn't seen each other for so long. Does he look the same? Is his hair still the same as she remembered it, and his clothes, and his eyes, and just everything?

She felt herself slowly raise her eyes from her feet, to his feet, to his legs, to his stomach, and to his chest, right below his head. She swallowed and looked up.

 _Whoosh!_ As her eyes ascended to see, a sudden, thick veil of white cloth drifted from above her and landed on her head softly, drowning her eyes in whiteness–right before the moment she was about to see his face. She felt someone pull her back and stand in front of her, causing her forehead to bump into his back.

"Yeah, Riku?" Sora's voice cut in on the silence. He stood in between the cloth-covered girl and Vanitas, who stared at the both of them in bewilderment. Sora held his phone to his ear as he blankly stared at Vanitas, finally able to put two and two together.

"Hey, what is this?" she let out instinctively in complaint as she struggled to pull the towel off of her head. "Sora, I'm not playing games with you right now." When she did, she still could not see, for Sora, with his other hand, reached behind her head and pulled the hood of her jacket over her face, continuing to prevent her from seeing. "Sora!"

"Yeah, I'm going to leave," Sora said into the phone, still immersed in his conversation with Riku. "Do you really expect me to continue being with you guys with me feeling like I just got submerged in a pool of white Elmer's glue? I think not. Yeah, yeah–yeah, you do owe me. I want to go to that steak house that opened right across the beach and–expensive? Did you just say it's too expensive? You know what's expensive? Yeah, you, you money sucker. Yeah, that's right, you better take me. Okay, bye." Sora ended the call and put his phone back into his pocket before offering a smile to Vanitas.

"Did you get lost?" Kairi gulped when she recognized the harsh and cold tone Sora often spoke in whenever he was irritated or annoyed–it never failed to scare and intimidate her. "I was sure I led you to the right direction. Oh well, whatever, sorry about that. At least your friend's here now." He was referring to Rikku. Sora didn't even let Vanitas say a word before he turned away from him and faced Kairi. He lifted her hood to see her eyes, but stood in front of her so that she couldn't see _him._

"What are you doing?" she whispered in a hiss. "Are you trying to suffocate me?"

"How'd you know? I was trying to do it discreetly" he said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes before putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her around. "Feel like becoming a two-part train with me for ten seconds?"

"Are you fucking high? Wait, I need to get my bag and–"

"Selphie, I trust you with Kailey's belongings!" and before she knew it, she felt herself getting ushered out through the automatic doors of the karaoke bar and out into the snowing streets with warm hands leading her by the shoulders.

Once they were a good distance away from the place, Sora let her go and finally began to walk by her side like a normal person. With a quick hand, he pulled her hood off her of her head and blew a low whistle.

"The most electricity-wasting month, don't you think?" Sora commented, referring to the hundreds of holiday lights strung up. "You should see them at the night though, not at plain daylight like this."

"Yeah," she answered automatically as she moved her feet through the snow. Still shaken from the unexpected encounter, Kairi didn't find enough energy to spark up a conversation with Sora. The encounter was way too sudden for her to take in–she needed a breather. Taking the hint that she didn't want to talk, Sora shut his mouth and waited.

The more she walked, however, the lighter her heart felt. It was strange, really; she thought she was going to be feel sadder, feel worse, and feel what she felt a few months ago.

But she didn't. Of course, seeing him again did bring back all the negative feelings at once, but it wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. The more she walked, the more her mind began to erase the heaviness of her heart. She wasn't having a mental break down, she wasn't crying, and she definitely wasn't venting to the person she thought she would burst to.

She felt light–light as the snow that was falling from the sky.

 _Why?_

Not wanting to make Sora feel uncomfortable, she found her voice after a couple of minutes.

"Thanks."

"For what?" Kairi smiled and laughed; he never did like taking credit for being nice. _For always helping me out, one way or another._ She decided it was best if she kept the thought to herself. Besides.

Sora was a bit arrogant, so she figured that he would know that himself already.

"Hm, want to do something for me?" She stopped in her tracks, but Sora didn't see.

"What? Does it involve self-pain? If it does, I'm not going to cooperate." Though, when he noticed that she wasn't by his side anymore, he stopped as well and turned around, only to fall back and stumble backwards as he found himself engulfed in a hug. Kairi felt him stiffen the moment she slipped her arms around him, but she couldn't care less at the moment.

"Thanks, Sora. Even though you're annoying and stupid and annoying and just plain annoying, you can be a nice guy too. Even though you always make fun of me and call me stupid names and compare me to a stupid goldfish–"

"Wait, how did you know that last pa–"

"You always seem to be the one helping me out, so thanks, man." Sora cleared his throat awkwardly before returning her hug loosely, believing that it was the least he could do for a heartbroken girl.

"You'll find another guy one day, so don't cry or anything like that. The guy doesn't deserve it." Kairi smiled secretly.

 _I think I already did._

"Sure. Thanks."

"Anytime. That's what friends do." Kairi laughed.

"Okay." She hoped he couldn't feel her heartbeat because it was racing towards the moon at that moment. Sora cleared his throat one more time to catch her attention.

"I hope you do realize that I'm still drenched in orange soda. Just saying."

 **O.m.g I am so sorry guys WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME I UPDATED?! It has been very busy this month. I don't know if you guys got the drift, but I'm a senior in high school?! Therefore, March = college decision season :')))) Homework and exams have been killing me too, so I haven't had time over the weekend to actually write :( But my schedule cleared this week, and so I manage to chug this chapter out as fast as I could in one day, and here you go! I was about to leave this as a cliffhanger where Kairi bumps into Van, but I feel like I kept you guys waiting too long, so here you go, some very much desired sokai fluff :) I will try to update next week again, but if I don't, y'all will know what happened to me :'))))) #ripschool**

 **I hope the story is going good. I'm actually not good at writing in a romantic setting, so I actually don't know how to pace romantic scenes (LOL) RIGHT NOW, I THINK I'M DOING IT VERY SLOWLY BUT HAHAHHAHA TOO LATE. I hope all of you readers are still enjoying!**

 **Anyways, yes, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter that I tried to make longer than usual, but it's only by a little :) Leave reviews ToT I read them and they make me happy! Sorry if I don't reply to them, I'm a shy person :)**

 **Peace out! See you guys next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

"C'mon, get up, Kairi." Kairi shrugged off the hand that was shaking her awake and bundled herself up in her blankets once more to avoid the winter coldness. She didn't care if she was pissing Xion off; she didn't ask her to wake her up every morning anyway.

"You can go first," Kairi mumbled. "Don't worry about me." She heard Xion sigh. _What are you sighing for?_

"Alright then." Kairi heard her footsteps shuffle a few times in the room before the slamming of the door signaled her exit. Kairi gave out another groan of reluctance before flipping the blankets off. Call her immature, but she didn't need nobody––especially Xion––to tell her to get up in the damn morning because she can do it _herself_.

"Classes don't even start until the afternoon for me," Kairi growled to herself as she bore holes through the door Xion just left through. "At least know when to wake me up."

Having been stirred awake, Kairi had nothing better to do then to at least grab some breakfast. After she washed up, she grabbed the hairbrush that was on the small desk besides her bed and attempted to rid her hair of the tangles, but it wasn't easy. Her hair had grown long enough to reach her mid back; every morning became a hassle now just to get her hair looking like it didn't just come out through an electric fence.

 _Should I cut it?_ she thought to herself as she looked at her appearance in the mirror. She hadn't cut her hair in ages since sophomore year of high school for reasons she did not want to remember. Vanitas had secretly liked long-hair (although he never told her that), but she did him a small favor and grew it long just for him, despite the usual short-hair look she adorned since childhood.

Now she had no reason to keep it long.

She shrugged to herself.

"Maybe I will cut it." Although, she wasn't sure if Namine was going to approve.

~.~.~

"Roxas!" Roxas turned around from his locker and smiled when he saw Xion waving to him happily. He waved back with crutches in hand, earning a giggle from her. His ankle was more screwed up then he actually thought it would be, so he was stuck with crutches for a few days until walking stopped hurting.

"Hey, Xi'," he greeted. Xion clasped her hands behind her back and curiously looked at his crutches. He laughed sheepishly. "I never did tell you what happened, did I?"

"No, you didn't, but I would assume it was a clumsy accident." Roxas licked his lips.

"How did you know?" Xion smiled before poking him on the forehead.

"I know you too well, silly!"

"I wish you knew me better in other areas." He shifted one of his crutches to his other hand, shut his locker, and adjusted his bag over his shoulder before accompanying Xion as they walked down the indoor hallway of the university.

"What are you up to afterschool? If you aren't busy, we could go grab something to eat?" When Roxas was calculating the rest of his day in his head, Xion quickly added, "With Axel too."

"No can do," he said with a small smile. "I would like to, since we haven't gone out with the three of us in a while, but I'm busy. Maybe next week after final exams are over? During break?" A disappointed look casted over Xion's face before she erased it with another small smile.

"That's okay; it's a busy week after all. Though, you've been busy almost every day after school for a few weeks. Is it cross country?" Roxas shook his head.

"Cross country officially ended last week. I've been busy tutoring someone." At this, a barely-visible frown plastered on her face.

"Who?" Roxas laughed before answering.

"This funny freshman I know. Do you know Kairi? Oh wait, she told me you guys were roommates––what a coincidence. Helping her with calculus, since we're in the same class and all." Roxas didn't notice how Xion's eye twitched by the slightest.

"Oh really now? You usually don't tutor anyone?" Roxas let out a hum.

"Yeah, I don't, but she's been giving me advice on a few things t––" he immediately shut his mouth when he realized what he was about to say and laughed it off nervously. " _Anyway_ , I think I'm free on the twenty-fifth after Christmas Eve?" He was obviously trying to change the subject, but luckily for him, Xion didn't dig any further.

Before she could answer, something more unpleasant happened.

"Oh, Roxas!" Roxas nearly lost the balance on his crutches as he stumbled back. In less than a second, the faintest tint of a blush splashed on his face.

"N-namine," he stuttered. She had just emerged from door of the classroom Roxas was about to pass by and nearly bumped into him if not for her quick instinct to stop. She blinked and looked between him and Xion before smiling cordially at both.

"Hey, guys," she said as she hugged the gigantic pile textbooks in her arms. Roxas cleared his throat and nodded his head towards the books.

"Do you need help?" Namine gave him a weird look before laughing.

"I think you need more help than I do." He wasn't sure what she was talking about until she glanced at his crutches.

"Oh, right." Roxas awkwardly stood there, mind going crazy to find the right, _intelligent_ words to say, but Namine wouldn't let him have the chance.

"Um, may I go through?" He realized that Xion and him were blocking her way to the hallway and quickly shifted himself away from the entrance.

"Sorry," he blurted out.

"It's okay." She gave them both a wave goodbye despite the pile of books on her before turning around and continuing her way towards her own locker. Roxas heaved a long sigh as he messed up his own hair in agitation.

Xion merely stayed quiet as she watched Roxas's reaction.

~.~.~

Sora listened to his friend's wails of despair as they finally began to act.

"Sora, when did we learn this lesson?" Hayner asked fearfully as he showed the brunet his biology notebook. "What, when, and how?" Sora sucked his lips him and mocked regret as he slowly pushed the notebook away.

"Sorry, my friend, but biology exams are tomorrow. It's too late." Hayner whimpered as he retreated back to his own table space. Currently, the three of them with Axel having gone somewhere with his other group of friends were sitting at a round table near the entrance of the university. Available seats were nonexistent in the library, so they settled with the outside as they froze their butts off. Riku was surprisingly quiet as he studied; when he put his head into it, his focus was off the charts. That wasn't the case for Hayner, who was just cramming now.

As for Sora, he did himself the sweet favor of pacing his studying so that he could relax the day before.

"I'll always remember your nerdy self back in the days, so don't look too smug," Riku joked as he observed the relaxed Sora. He merely stuck his tongue out in response as he leaned the side of his face against a hand, calmly looking at the sunny yet frosty sky.

"Sora?" Sora perked his eyebrows up in curiosity when he turned his head to see who had called him out. He could already hear Hayner convulsing next to him underneath the table.

"Hey, Nami'," Sora said. Namine blinked at the nickname he just gave her. While she thought he was getting a little bit too friendly with her, Sora only did it because he honestly forgot the rest of her name. "What's up?" Namine fumbled awkwardly with the pile of books she always had in her arms––and they weren't always the same books either. Sora watched as she slid out a book and placed it in front of him.

Once he saw the cover of it, he grew uneasy.

"I think I heard somewhere that you were pretty good at programming?" she started innocently. Ever since her conversation with Roxas, she has been dying to have a conversation with Sora; Roxas never said she couldn't, so she wasn't going to miss this chance, even if the spiky brunet was slightly scary. It wouldn't hurt, would it?

"I was looking at this book about the Keyblade and how it worked, and I was hoping you could give me more insight on it? Since, you know, your dad is––"

 _Slam!_

Namine jumped in surprise when Sora suddenly slammed a hand on the book. With one sweep, Sora pushed the book away from him and nearly slid it off the table if not for Riku and his quick reflexes.

"Sora, what's wro––"

"I think you're asking the wrong person here," his eyes pierced Namine's. "I don't know why you're coming to me for this." Namine frowned.

"But Roxas––" The moment that name was uttered, Sora's gaze hardened intensely, causing Namine to clutch her books in uneasiness and confusion at what was getting him so upset. Riku and Hayner sat by the side, a bit confused about what was going on to create such a tense mood.

"I don't know what you heard, but you're wasting your time," Sora stated curtly, standing up from the table. Namine unconsciously took a step back and stumbled aside to pave way for Sora as he stormed off, footsteps harsh and rough as he pounded down the way towards the library.

Inside the library, Kairi watched excitedly as Roxas graded her practice math test. He guided the red pen in his hand along the paper, keenly checking all the steps and arithmetic. So far, he hadn't made any big marks, so the future for her calculus final didn't look too dim anymore.

"Not bad," he commented as he wrote her score at the top of the paper and circled it. He rotated the paper for her to see and gave her a thumbs up. "I don't want to be too positive, but I can safely say you're going to at least get a B on the final––and this is just because of your algebra atrocity. It hurts my eyes to see such middle school work done wrong." Kairi zoned him out the moment he assured her that she wasn't going to fail and laid her head down, tired from all the intense studying Roxas had been drilling in.

"Gods do exist," she murmured incoherently in her arm. "They actually do, and they have mercy too." Roxas laughed before closing all his books up and hers.

"You'll be fine."

"Thanks, Roxas. You're such a nice guy, has anyone ever told you that? Incredibly nice guy you are. It's like the heavens sent down an angel––well, at least for me." Roxas's response didn't come as quick, and when it did, it was just some nervous laugh that Kairi didn't really look into.

"I'm not really that nice of a guy you give me credit for." Kairi mentally rolled her eyes. _Him being modest again._

"Anyway, I have to give you what I promised I would give you since the beginning."

"...And what's that?"

"My sister." She heard Roxas slam the last textbook rather abruptly.

"Stop," he whined. "You're having too much fun with this. Now you're just making me super conscious around her to the point where I'm an unintelligent babbling foo––whoa!" Kairi shot her head up when Roxas's chair suddenly screeched loudly against the floor as it got pushed back. Roxas hissed in pain as his injured foot temporarily hit the floor. Kairi widened her eyes when she saw the sight of a vehement Sora holding Roxas by the collar of his shirt with a hand. Roxas stared at Sora in shock and surprise.

"S-s-sora, what's wro––"

"What are you trying to pull here?" Sora spat, voice loud enough to gain the attention of the people around them. "I thought we had some sort of silent agreement about you-know-what, but you're obviously not cooperating."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but let's take it outsi––" Roxas grunted when Sora fisted more of his shirt.

"Isn't it enough that you've taken everything away from me?" Sora continued to hiss, eyes burning with a rage Kairi never saw before. "And I've silently let you take everything away, but now you're trying to play some sort of saint and––"

"Sora, let him go." Sora, for the first time, noticed Kairi's presence and directed his glare towards her. "Roxas is right––take it outside." Fearing the library staff more than him at the moment, she forcefully disconnected Sora's hold on Roxas. However, she didn't need much strength, for Sora readily ripped his arm away from her touch and let go of Roxas with a small push. He didn't need to hear her a second time before he stormed out through the exit, leaving a shaken Roxas and Kairi behind. Kairi looked over Roxas worriedly. "Roxas, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," he breathed, straightening his shirt. Kairi looked between the exit and him.

"What was up with him?" Roxas shook his head slowly before pushing his chair in, putting his books back into his bag, and giving Kairi a pat on the shoulder.

"I think I'm done tutoring you. You're going to do fine on the final; trust me. Hey, I'll see you later." He quickly said all of this before exiting out the library too, leaving a very confused Kairi to stare at the door.

Now that she thought of it, she never did see the two brothers interact with one another before.

~.~.~

 _Sora knelt down upon the grass, hair droopy as the rain slid down his face and soaked into his shirt. The dark skies rumbled, blocking the sun's rays from penetrating through the clouds. He settled the bouquet of white flowers upon the step––his mother's favorites._

 _"Hey, Mom. I didn't expect it to rain today, so now I'm soaking without an umbrella." He laughed. "I was never really aware of my surroundings in the first place, so I can just hear you scolding me already." He gave a soft pat on the flowers that he settled and shifted his position. "And Dad, I know you really liked the pendant of the family picture I accidentally broke when I was using it for a physics project five years ago. It was idiotic of me to use it as some mass, but I'm still an idiot, so I have no excuse. Anyways, I finally got it fixed by this very nice man in this watch repair shop near the high school I go to." He laughed again._

 _Digging his hand inside his shirt, he pulled out the glistening gold pendant that now dangled around his neck along with his crown necklace. Lifting and shaking it off his head, he wiped the pendant clear from water, but it merely got wet again from the light rain that fell. He smiled as he gently laid the golden pendant upon his father's step, making sure it was neatly placed before he grasped his crown necklace mournfully._

 _"I would say that I've been doing okay, but since you guys are always watching over me, I can't really say one-hundred percent that I'm okay, but I swear that I have been better. Honestly! I never got along with Uncle Hikari––he wants me to call him 'father' for publicity surrounding his company or whatever, which I do, but I don't at home because you're my only dad!––but it's been better, since I found a way not to get into fights with him. I just give everyone the silent treatment now (not like they even need anything from me anyway). Mrs. Hikari is so detestable, so that's easy to do, but I think you guys heard enough about that._

 _"As for Roxas, I just hate how everyone just expects me to be like him. That's why I always kind of dislike him, but I'm trying not to. He's actually very nice, so I shouldn't be mean, should I? I'll try to be a nicer cousin, I guess. I'm just too petty. I don't know, he just feels very strange to me, so I'm not hating on him on purpose, I swear! He hasn't done anything bad, but anyway..._

 _"Besides school being rough as usual, I actually made a new friend––a female friend," Sora grew nervous, "Her name's Xion. She's very bubbly and is always smiling––I like that. I mean, I don't like-like her––I think. Ugh, I don't know, but she talks to me normally and she treats me like Sora Hikari, not anybody else if that makes any sense. She makes things a little bit less lonely and rough at school. Maybe it'll be a better place to go to? Okay, I'm just rambling now. I just wanted to tell you that things aren't as bad as they were before-ish. I'm doing well, and I hope you guys are doing well too. I'll visit again soon!"_

"Sora, wait!" Roxas struggled to catch up to the fuming Sora with his crutches. "Wait!"

"What do you have to say?" Sora growled, turning around. "I'll hear you out for a minute––max."

"What's gotten you so angry?" Roxas asked, a concerned look on his face––something that irritated Sora far more than what he did. "If you tell me, we can work things ou––"

"Ask your blonde friend what's wrong." Roxas didn't get what he said at first, but connecting all the things that could've made Sora angry, he bit the inside of his cheek real hard when he realized what he was talking about.

"It just slipped; I didn't mean to tell her––honestly." Sora rolled his eyes mockingly.

"Save it for the birds. I honestly don't think I should ever trust anything that comes out of your mouth anymore." Sora looked away when a hurt look crossed Roxas's features. Not wanting to talk anymore and cause further annoyances, he turned back around and continued to walk on.

"I was stupid back then, and I admit it." Sora was compelled to stop once more. "I was an idiotic teenager; I was impulsive back then, and I know that. I don't know what I was doing or why I even did it. I just wanted to be the person who everyone was proud of and show that I could––"

"If you wanted to be someone who everyone was proud of, then what was I?"

"Sora, I'm just trying to make things better and redo what I did wrong. If you could give me the chance, then––" Roxas grew extremely concerned when Sora burst out laughing uncontrollably. He had to support himself with an arm against the wall as he laughed his heart out in bitterness, disbelief lacing every single chortle.

"'Make things better'? Hello?" he choked out. "'Make things better'? Did you just fucking tell me that? Look here, Perfect Boy; things don't magically get better just 'cause you want it to."

"Sora––"

"The world isn't a place where you can just mess things up and fix everything back to what it was before when you feel like it. I'll let the guilt rot you away––if there's any to begin with." He didn't give Roxas another look as he stormed down the outdoor hall and turned the corner, leaving the blonde to stare at his shrinking back.

It's not like Sora even cared anymore––why should he?

~.~.~

"Captain, how did you feel on your finals, bro?" Sora could feel his agitation rising slowly with his crappy mood.

"Mediocre." The campus flooded as people swarmed out of their classrooms for the fresh air and escape from the horrid rooms where they did their hours of testing. After the last day of finals, people were ready to go out and start their vacation. Sora could already see people getting in their cars and just driving away already.

"That's what you always say," Tidus, a fellow classmate and swimmer, quipped. "You're such a nerd, but everyone just thinks of you as a swimmer. Must be nice."

"Nothing really special," Sora answered in a mundane manner, ready to just knock out on his bed at his apartment; he was too brain dead to hold any conversation with society, and he was too done with society to even put up with the effort. "I'm not the only one. You're just ostracized as a student on a sports scholarship." Tidus pouted as he tossed his blitzball around.

"Whatever. Hey, you up for some practice in the indoor pool?" Sora shook his head.

"Tired. Maybe later in the week. Although, let's not hurt ourselves before the season starts." Tidus stuck his tongue at Sora before before leaving him to join his girlfriend Yuna who had been waiting at the side for him. Glad that he could have some alone time, Sora shouldered his bag and was about to whisk away when another person disrupted him. He wondered why people just kept flocking around him. Maybe he was just too popular. _Haha, I make myself laugh._

"Already bolting home?" _Damn it._ Riku, having walked faster to catch up to the eager boy, came and gave him a hard slap on the back. "Don't you know what the definition of fun is on a break?" Sora rolled his eyes as he played with his keys in his pockets.

"Fun isn't on the agenda when I'm super sleep deprived," Sora muttered. Riku clapped him hard on the back again, earning a small piss of pain from Sora. "It's the life of what you guys call 'a nerd.' Deal with it."

"We'll call you up over the break. Definitely something for Christmas? Yeah." Riku completely dismissed Sora's reluctance and skipped along ahead of him. Sora sighed; the guy needed to take a break from all the partying he's been going to because Sora no longer wanted to be his stupid taxi driver.

"Idiot."

Just when he finally thought he could get the freedom of going to his car without any disruption, a third person decided to make his life a little bit more difficult.

"Please let me go, Axel," Sora grumbled as he felt familiar––too familiar––muscular arms wrap themselves around him from behind. This could only be one person. "I don't want to get involved with your gay rumors."

"Harsh," Axel muttered as he obeyed. "You've been distant lately, so I want you to feel the love, y'know? Make sure to go with us on outings when we call you! Toodaloo!" Sora gave him a dead wave good bye as he watched the crazy flame-head skip to his own group of people with equally strange, colored hair. Sora wondered how he met the flame-head in the first place. When he felt an ominous shiver run down his back, he decided against actually trying to remember.

When the chance was open to run to the fourth base and to his car once more, he was stopped for the fourth time when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. A bit irritated at his friends, he turned his head to the side where he was tapped to give them a piece of his mind.

"Dude, I swear, I just want to get home and––" He frowned when he saw no one. _Weird._

"Boo!" His whole body jumped when he felt hands clamp on his other arm out of nowhere. "What's gotten you so irritated and tense?"

"Oh, Kairi," he turned his head, recognizing her voice instantly, "Haven't talked to you in a whi––holy moly." He widened his eyes to the size of dinner plates and took a very long time to register what he was seeing as Kairi looked at him in bewilderment––although, he couldn't really see her expression as he stared at something else.

"Why are you giving me such a morbid look?" Kairi blinked before smiling. "You've been so busy; I haven't seen your face in a while."

"Your hair," he blurted, not even responding to whatever she was saying. To make sure he wasn't just imagining things because of his post-exam madness, he unconsciously lifted a hand and touched the ends of her hair with a finger. She took a step back in surprise before he let it down and stuffed it in his pocket. "You cut it."

"Oh, you haven't noticed?" Kairi flipped her hair now-shoulder-length hair over to the side. "I cut it last week," she laughed, "A lot of people flipped 'cause they were all saying how I shouldn't have cut it so shortly, but it's my hair––not theirs. I can do whatever I want with it, hmmp."

"Well spoken," Sora joked in agreement, still eyeing her hair; it was going to take a long time to get used to. "How are you feeling about it? Any regrets? 'Cause I swear you chopped off a good ten feet of hair in one sitting, and girls usually, I don't know, lament over it? I know Selphie did, but I have no idea why she keeps cutting it, so I give up on knowing the truth of the world." Kairi rolled her eyes at his exaggeration and shrugged casually.

"It was starting to become a drag as it grew longer. Plus, doesn't my short hair give me some sort of fresh look? C'mon, admit it, I look super good right now, don't I?" Kairi was honestly just joking, making sure to make herself sound like she actually was so that she wouldn't feel awkward if Sora failed to respond.

"Yeah, you look good. It suits you." He had said it in a matter-of-factly tone as he took out his phone to see who was calling him, thankfully allowing Kairi to drop her jaw open in surprise without him seeing her expression.

"T-thanks," Kairi stuttered. _Kairi, stop being a bumbling fool._ _It was just a casual compliment, stop._

"Yeah."

 _Vrr! Vrr!_

She started to stare at his ringing phone when he failed to pick it up. When he just pressed the power button and slid it back into his pocket, she threw a quizzical look at him.

"We got a rude one here. Not gonna pick it up?"

"I'll pass."

"What if it's important?"

"After so many times, I doubt it's anything important anymore." Sora's face fell slightly as he sighed. "Yeah. I doubt it has anything to do with me." Kairi frowned; why would a call directed towards him not have anything to do with him? Kairi tilted her head slightly as she tried to figure out what was wrong with him, something that she could never do well ever since she met this complicated boy whose life he never disclosed; this thought brought her mood down a tiny bit.

However, this time, it didn't take too long to guess what was up.

"Xion?" At the mention of her name, his whole body tensed as he shuffled the books in his arms uncomfortably.

"You're good," he said weakly in light humor, suddenly becoming interested in his feet. It didn't make Kairi laugh though. She bit the bottom of her lip, wondering how much this girl meant to him to the point where it stripped away his usual arrogant self.

"Hey," she garnered his attention with the light tug on his sleeve, "Want to talk about it? It's good to let off some steam, and––"

"I'd rather not talk about it." There it was again: the cold, stone wall. He must've noticed some sort of change in her expression, for he regarded her gently as he smiled. "It's not anything big. Don't worry about it?" Kairi sighed. Deciding that there was no point in digging any further, she changed the subject.

"Do you know any huge popular mall near here?" Sora raised a brow.

"I could pull something up. Why?"

"Um, hello?" She pointed a hand to the snowy skies and then to the decorated streets across the university. "What time of the year do you think it is?" Sora let out a silent "ah" of understanding, scratching his head sheepishly for not guessing the obvious answer.

"Completely slipped my mind. Yeah, there's actually a pretty big one downtown near here that's popular for Christmas shopping."

"Sounds awesome. I've been so busy this quarter; I haven't had time to go shopping in this town ever since I came here, so I want to hit the biggest one first for both personal shopping and Christmas gifts." Sora gave her a confused look.

"Selphie hasn't brought you to anywhere?"

"Nope––been busy, but even if I wasn't, let's face it. You should know this better than anyone else, I think. Selphie plus shopping?" Sora seemed to be triggered by hearing those two terms together and shivered in fear.

"You're right." Kairi laughed at his look of terror before pulling out her phone.

"But yup––never gone before. Since exams are over, I'm gonna release some of the stress by blowing money 'cause blowing money always feels good." Sora let out a chuckle.

"That's what they all say before the big fat zero appears on their account." Kairi waved it off with a hand, as if that wasn't an important matter at all.

"It's okay. Money is meant to be spent."

"Wait until you're completely broke––then it'll be a different story." Kairi rolled her eyes and pointed at her phone.

"Address?" Sora took out his phone and texted her the address, but right after he sent it, he frowned.

"How are you planning to get there?" Kairi showed him her phone, which had the GPS app on.

"Duh, by walking. I would bus, but I think it's going to be freaking longer than walking, so," Kairi jogged in place in a silly manner to emphasize her point, "Time to prove the world that I actually don't live a sedentary life for a day." Sora stared at her incredulously, actually not sure if she was joking or not.

"It's about to freaking snow––quite heavily, might I add, according to the weather forecast––and you're telling me you're going to walk." Kairi gave him a thumbs up.

"I'll run."

"Just get in the damn car." One way or another, he just knew deep down that he wasn't going to go home anytime soon for that nap.

Sora wasn't lying when he said there was a gigantic mall near the university, but he also wasn't lying when it said it was going to snow hard. Kairi sighed as she watched it fall; his judgment always seemed to be precise and worthy to listen to, which made him all the more attractive to her. She groaned out loud at how perfect he could be and banged her head repeatedly on the window to get such thoughts out of her head

 _We're just friends, we're just friends, we're just friends._

Sora became concerned about her mental state as he drove into the parking garage. However, he just kept quiet.

He always did whenever she was having her quirky moments.

"Wait, you can just drop me off," Kairi persisted when she realized he was trying to find parking down the several rows of cars. "Why are you finding parking?" Sora spotted a spot far down below and sped up to catch it before some asshole cut him off from the other side.

"I'm here already. I might as well go shopping too for Christmas," he said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "It's such a hassle to go again later. What, are you worried that I'm going to tag along? Don't worry. You can go with your friends or whatever while I do my own stuff. Just call me when you're done and we can––"

"No, no, w-we can go together. I'm not going with anyone," she immediately cut in, a bit overwhelmed. "I just thought you were just going to drop me off." Sora stuck out his tongue.

"Who's going to drive you back?" He easily parked his car into the space and unbuckled his seatbelt. "It's okay. I have the time, I guess." Kairi, not sure what was going on now, slowly followed him out the car and across the street where the mall entrance was. She felt herself grow extremely nervous as she trailed behind his figure––it was their first time going out together as friends.

"Do you go here often?" Kairi asked. He seemed to know the way through the mall very well as he threaded through the shop to get out. Sora chuckled nervously as he slowed down his speed slightly to walk beside her.

"Sure."

The mall was bigger in the inside than it actually looked like from the outside. It was extremely crowded as everyone rushed towards the sales and deals under the influence of the holiday spirits. Lights bordered nearly every display case while Christmas trees––both real and balloon––stood in corners and intersections of the outlet they were currently in. Kairi liked places with a lot of people; festivities were her kind of thing.

"I don't know why I'm leading the way," Sora said after a while. He waved his hands around the whole place. "Let your shopping instincts take over." Kairi grinned devilishly before taking a sharp left turn the moment the exited out the outlet.

"Well then, my instinct is telling me to go over here. I could feel something screaming to be bought by Kairi Lockhart." Sora stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and got his spirit ready for another Selphie. He really thought he could last long, since Selphie was probably one hundred times worse than Kairi, but he felt his composure start to break down when Kairi took a familiar route he really didn't want her to take. He was hoping for her to take a turn away, but she didn't and went straight to the area he didn't want to see.

"What's with that huge crowd over there?" Curiously, she stood on her tippy toes to see over the heads of people and widened her eyes when she saw a glimpse of the source of excitement. Sora bit his bottom lip uncomfortably. "Oh my God, it's an actual Keyblade arena!"

"There's this place that opened, and I think it's pretty popular for gir––"

"There was only one in Destiny Islands on the central island, since I heard it's complicated to construct, but it was so far away! I've never been to one before, and I heard it's super duper cool. Sora, can we go, can we go?" She didn't even need an answer from him. Without hearing his response, she bolted towards the entrance to join the excitement, Christmas shopping put on hold while Sora gruffly put on his hood and slowly followed her.

Even though there were a lot of people watching, there wasn't actually an enormous amount of people in the arena. It was still crowded, but not as much as she expected it to be. After she paid the small fee to enter and showed proof that she was fifteen and older, she entered the arena. Looking around, she wondered where Sora disappeared to before she felt a hand grasp her shoulder from behind.

"Kairi." Kairi yelped and turned around immediately.

"Sora, you scared the living jeebies out of me," she breathed. She then tilted her head to the side. "Why do you look so covered up?"

"You said you never tried it before?" Sora asked without responding to her. He seemed very fidgety, as if this was the last place he ever wanted to be in. "Let's not. Didn't you say you wanted to go Christmas shopping?" Kairi furrowed her eyebrows and checked her wristwatch.

"Sora, we have plenty of time. It's barely the afternoon, chill." Kairi examined the peculiar eye visor she was given before she put it on. She wasn't afraid to take Sora's and shove it on his face too before she went ahead to one of the corners where there were instructions displayed as a slideshow on how to gear up. Sora cursed underneath his breath before coming over to her side again.

"Kairi, I hope you know this isn't just some virtual reality arcade game," he insisted, looking warily at the various people who were slashing randomly through the air with the original model of the Keyblade. Knowingly pressing a button at the side of his visor, he literally jumped in surprise when he saw a programmed Soldier ram into one of the teenagers from behind in the battle zone. "The whole arena is capable of projecting solid holograms that could seriously hurt you if you don't––"

"You sure sound like you go here a lot," Kairi mused, sticking on the white sensor pads to their designated spots on her body. "But to the real matter at hand, I wonder what these are for."

"They're sensors that interact with the arena once you turn them on so that they can detect your body's shape and movement. They also give you feeling––something that you definitely need to turn down to zero percent." Sora said everything in a rush as he maneuvered all the settings of her sensors through the holographic screen that popped up after he pressed _something._ Kairi watched in amazement as his nimble fingers pressed on buttons so fast to the point where she didn't even have time to read a single word. "But if you fall down and stuff, that's your fault and there's no preventing that, so that's what I mean by how this isn't just some arcade game and that you shouldn't even try to––"

"Sora, seriously, calm down," Kairi interrupted for the nth time, this time actually concerned on what was getting him so frazzled. Sora drew a long breath he didn't realize he needed and exhaled slowly. "There are literally random fifteen year-olds here trying it out too. We're not at some advanced tournament or anything, so I'm going to be alright. I want to try it out." Sora sucked his lips in before releasing a sigh and closed the holographic screen of Kairi's sensors. Nothing he was going to say was going to get through with her. With a quick movement, he tapped the side of her visor to turn it on and ran a hand down his face.

"Just hurry it up. I really don't like being here." Kairi let out a "woot" in excitement and grabbed one of the Keyblades in the cubby box and synced it with her sensors while Sora configured with his too.

"You seem to know so much about this deal," she commented as she waited for the Keyblade to completely sync with her sensors. "Again, do you go here a lot?" Sora scratched the back of his head uncomfortably and shrugged.

"Two or three times, sure."

"Great. Teach me all the basics." Sora gave her a nonchalant nod while he examined the original Keyblade model.

"Horrible quality," he muttered to himself as he gave the blade a nice knock with his fist before settling it down. He then looked at Kairi, who just stood there watching all the battling that was unfolding right in front of her eyes. "What are you standing there for? Go knock yourself out and kill a few Heartless." Kairi held her Keyblade awkwardly, finding it heavier than she actually thought it was and warily made her way towards the Heartless Corner.

When her visor wasn't on, she didn't see what the big deal was––it was just a harmless activity. However, the moment Sora switched her visor on, the whole white platform digitalized and transformed into a very violent battlefield somewhere in a valley between super tall mountains as other players slashed and hacked at the holograms Sora mentioned.

"Holy shit."

"I told you," Sora said beside her, swinging his Keyblade around like it was some toy. "It's not for the lighthearted. Do you want to back out now?" Kairi shook her head. It was too late to just walk out after paying the fee to get in. "Be glad this arena is just for entertainment purposes only; it's not the real deal."

"I know that at least," Kairi shot back, having watched a few videos that portrayed what was actually involved in the spot. Rigorous obstacle courses, holograms the size of gigantic trees, battles with sixty-five percent sensitivity––the actual thing was more horrific than this, but that didn't mean this wasn't at all overwhelming either.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Sora grabbed her gloved hand and pressed on the side of her wrist. Instantly, another holographic screen popped up, but this time a lot smaller than the other screens she saw. It was just a bit bigger than her hand. However, what caught her attention was what it composed of: just square tiles.

"What's this?"

"Your spell caster pad."

"My what?" Sora turned on his own and began to press some sequence with his left hand.

"It's just like a keyboard, but without any letters or signs, it's just a four-by-four square pad that's used to type in sequences, like this one." When he was done typing, a huge ball of fire shot out at the end of his Keyblade, killing a Shadow by the distance in just one hit. Kairi widened her eyes when she saw it fire. "We aren't actually magicians that can cast stuff, so you gotta type it in. The more complicated the spell, the longer the sequence, so." Kairi gulped, having zoned him out the moment she saw the fire spell.

"Hey, what happens if you get hit by that during PvP?" It just looked so _real_.

"If your sensors are on one-hundred percent sensitivity, then it'll actually feel like real flames." Kairi dropped her jaw.

"You're kidding."

"You wish."

And so, Sora taught Kairi all the basics, even a few short-sequence spells. He wasn't too involved with the battling, since he just wanted to get out of the arena as soon as possible. Standing at a distance behind Kairi, he just watched her fumble with the Keyblade like the complete clutz she was. Without her knowing it, or else her pride would be hurt, he killed the numerous amounts of Shadows and Soldiers that approached her in her blind spots. If he didn't, she would be on the floor feeling the heaviness of them all as they piled on her.

As predicted, after twenty minutes, Kairi was beyond exhausted. When she felt that she could not swing the blade anymore, she gave up and immediately pressed the button on her visor to turn it off. Sora gladly followed her out the corner and back to the gear area to take off their sensors and exit out the arena.

The moment Kairi found a bench at her disposal, she plopped herself on it and leaned her back against the wall. Finding no seats available next to her, since a family of three also sat on the bench, Sora simply stood and leaned on the adjacent wall.

"I can't believe I'm sweating in winter," she exasperated as she fanned herself. "That was the most intense amount of exercise I've done since the fall quarter started."

"You need to exercise more then, weakling." Kairi turned to stick her tongue at him, but he oddly disappeared behind the corner. When he returned, he welcomed her with his return by pressing a cold water bottle against her cheek, which she gladly took and gulped down.

"Even though it's tiring, I still find it fun," she capped the bottle and looked up at Sora, "Do you not like it?" The whole time, she didn't really see him move from his place as he stood there looking bored out of his wits and suspicious with his hood covering most of his head. He also kept looking at the time on his watch and at the exit, as if he really needed to get going somewhere when he actually didn't. Feeling a bit guilty, she left earlier than what she wanted to.

"I don't like it for many reasons you don't need to know about." _Here it is again._ If she could, Kairi would like to learn all the subjects he was touchy with to avoid this distant and cold attitude switch of his. Not sensing how he frustrated he was making her feel, he snatched the bottle back into his grasp and drank a sip from it as well, causing Kairi's cheek to prickle a bit.

"Get your own water bottle."

"I did, but a certain redhead stole it."

"Some jerk pretended to give it to me, that's why." Sora laughed as Kairi stood up from the bench, her resting period over. "Enough. Let's go shopping." Kairi stood up and energetically moved through the crowd with Sora sighing and following close behind her.

However, despite his stealth the whole time, he didn't realize that it wasn't enough.x

~.~.~

"Knock, knock." Namine, who was in the middle of cleaning the nurse's office, looked up from her duties to greet whoever entered. At the sight of Roxas, she gave him an amused look.

"Looks like you're back on two feet again." Roxas let out a laugh before wiggling his foot.

"Seems about right." He took it upon himself to enter and sit by a chair near her as she continued to clean. "Now that I'm healthy again, I'm not sure what the first thing I should do for break is. Endless of possibilities."

"Well, I recommend not busting your ankle again," Namine mused, "Stay safe out there, alright, kid?"

"Don't call me a kid."

"You kind of resemble one," Roxas stuck out his tongue, "Anyway, what graces me with your presence once more? Are you suffering another injury I need to attend to?" She gave him a joking look before arranging a few tools into a kit. "You seem fine."

"Do I need to be injured to walk in here?"

"Well, it's the nurse's office for a reason." She took the kit and traveled across the room to put it back in a certain cupboard. "I don't consider this place to be a source of fu––"

"Go out with me." She dropped the kit. Outside, Roxas appeared to be calm and conserved, but inside, he was ready to explode with embarrassment as he watched Namine's complexion turn pink while she gaped at him. He bit his tongue to contain himself as he remembered the advice Kairi had given him.

 _"Many boys have hit on my sister before."_

 _"Yeah, thanks for encouraging me."_

 _"That's why, you gotta take the initiative." Kairi nodded to herself animatedly. "Yes, yes, initiative, something boys somehow lack when they're not supposed to." Roxas narrowed his eyes at her, opening the library door for her. She skipped through it happily._

 _"What is that supposed to mean?"_

 _"That means you need to go for it like a real man. Namine likes masculine men, not some wimpy stick like you."_

 _"I'm not a stick. I will let you know, I'm in the cross country te––"_

 _"Ask her out, but remain ambiguous."_

 _"I honestly don't know what that means. Please explain." Kairi sighed._

 _"Act smooth and cool. After finals, invite her to somewhere. She's probably going to be cooped up in the nurse's office. Be super smooth. Something along the lines of 'go out with me' and quickly say 'go out with me to the cafe' or something. Smooth. Namine gets easily flustered, especially if she misunderstands." Kairi had lost Roxas in a blushing fuse when he heard the words "go out with me."_

 _"Kairi, you're crazy. No, no, no, no, I can't do that. That's too much, that's too––"_

 _"Guess I'll try to hook my sister with someone else more worthy, 'cause––"_

 _"Okay, okay! Fine!"_

"W-w-what?" Namine stuttered. Roxas merely jerked a thumb towards the door.

"To grab a bite. I'm a loner, since most of my friends already hopped a plane right after school to go visit home." _Nice lie, Roxas, nice lie._ "Wanna go?" Namine seemed to quickly recollect herself, for her blush dimmed down before she cleared her throat awkwardly and stuffed the kit back into the cupboard.

"I think I'm free."

~.~.~

 _Ring! Ring! Ring!_

"Kailey, I think your phone is ringing."

"No shit." Kairi shoved him the three shopping bags in her hand, causing him to laugh a bit before taking them, and looked through her bag to get her phone. Kairi groaned when she saw who it was. Sora really didn't intend to see who the caller was, but he did, and he merely straightened his jaw before circling the clothing rack in front of them.

"What do you need, man?" Kairi said with a sigh as she pressed her phone against her shoulder and cheek. She continued to look at the clothes as she talked. "What is it this time?"

"Kairi, I actually asked her out!"

"Alright."

"Now what do I do?"

"What do you think you do? Go on the date and not have time to call me, 'cause that's just sad." Sora couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter, despite his sour mood. Kairi rolled her eyes and switched shoulders.

"She just went to the bathroom after we grabbed some hot coffee, but now I don't know what to or say!"

"Roxas, I think I'm losing signal," she grabbed one of the relatively-empty paper shopping bag from Sora and started to crumple up one of the corners, "Sorry, tell me how it goes though, okay?"

"Kairi!" She hung up.

"Cold," Sora whistled, swinging her bags up and down. "Just plain, icy cold."

"Well, I'm busy, so. Does your brother have any experience in love?" She really didn't think she said anything wrong, but apparently she did if Sora's mood suddenly dropped once more.

"He's not my brother."

"What?" Sora gave her back her bags and looked away with a sigh.

"He's not my brother," he repeated, "He's my cousin, so don't mistake us as siblings ever again." Ever since the incident at the library a few weeks ago, she automatically knew something was definitely wrong between the two. When she met up with Roxas again and asked him what had gotten Sora so infuriated, he just kept quiet and awkwardly laughed it off before shoving her a bunch of math problems he made her for. As for Sora, she knew better than to ask him, but now, she wasn't so sure.

"Cousins?" was all she said.

"Yeah." Kairi let out a hum in understanding, but let it drop. She rummaged through the rack of clothes she knew she wasn't going to try on at all before pointing over to the glass display cases and walking towards it.

"I think I bought all I needed. Now it's just Namine's gift I'm looking for." Sora looked over to what she was referring to and shrugged.

"Sure."

Kairi's eyes lit up at all the sparkling jewelry as she walked around to see each and every one with her finger trailing on the glass too. From watches to earrings, there was a lot to choose from.

But the price tags were really making her eyes hurt.

"Does Nami' not like clothes?" Sora asked, knowing what was going through her mind. "Unless you're stacked, then..." Kairi laughed at the comment and shook her head.

"The world will turn into dust the day Namine accepts clothes from me."

"And why is that?"

"Because my fashion sense equals that of a witch." At this statement, Sora's eyes started to look Kairi up and down from head to toe. Kairi blinked as she slowly registered what he was doing and shook her head once more, a little bit more frantic this time. "No, no. Almost all the clothes I wear and shop for involves Namine. I would be caught dead outside if I wore something I chose myself."

"Wow, talk about being independent."

"Shut up." Sora stepped back to avoid the fake kick she threw at him and chuckled. "It's okay. I have a decent eye for jewelry, I guess. I think I'll get her a necklace."

It didn't take long for Kairi to narrow it down to two choices: a zircon gem with a silver chain and a sapphire gem with a golden chain. Both of them looked okay, and she couldn't go wrong with either, but she didn't know what would be better on Namine. Before she could ask for Sora's opinion, he beat her to it.

"Hey, try this on for me." Kairi looked at what he was talking about and was surprised to see him with the counter lady and a bracelet out on the display case already. "Be my test subject." Kairi walked over curiously and gaped at how _pretty_ the bracelet he chose turned out to be. Small glistening cubic zirconia lined most of the length of the golden bracelet, with a few slightly larger pink gems evenly spaced along the length as well. Sora surprisingly had good taste.

"Sure." She held out her left wrist, which he easily snapped the bracelet onto.

"It's popular with the ladies," the counter woman insisted with a smile. "Since it's a thin and delicate type, but it definitely won't break easily." Sora licked his lips as he looked over it in deep concentration. Kairi already knew it was a good choice to whoever he was going to gift it to the moment she glanced at it, but that didn't seem to be the case for Sora, who oddly took a long time to look at it.

"This isn't going to be for me, is it?" she joked to somehow speed him up, "Reminds me of the movies where the guy secretly buys it for you using this method." Sora rolled his eyes at her.

"No, it's not for you. Sorry to burst your bubble," Kairi snarled at him, "I'm not that cliché."

"Then hurry it up because my arm is starting to hurt from being your live model." Sora heeded her words and asked the counter lady to pack it into a small gift box as he took out his wallet for his card. As she watched the process, she wondered who it could it be, the person he wanted to give it to, but stopped when she found the probable answer.

"Oh well."

"Hm?" She snapped out of it when Sora questioned her and forced a smile.

"Nothing. Anyway, it's your turn to help me out." She grabbed Sora's upper sleeve and pulled him over to the display case she was previously at and pointed at the two options. Before she could actually ask the question, he pointed to the one with the zircon gem.

"It matches her eyes. Go for this one."

"That sure was quick..."

"Because I'm that good." Kairi shoved him playfully before asking the counter lady to wrap it up for her too.

"I trust you."

"Don't worry, I have the eyes of a god." Kairi laughed, actually finding Sora's witty remarks funny, and it wasn't long before he joined in with her as they began to walk towards the exit where they came from.

However, the jolly joy that had built up between them was suddenly destroyed the moment they took a step outside the mall.

"I think I see him over there!" Before Kairi could register what was going on, a few flashes from cameras started to blind her. Sora immediately took her hood and shoved it over her face as he pulled her behind him, shielding his eyes from the flashes with a hand.

"Mr. Hikari, are the news concerning your father true?" one of the reporters asked. "What are your thoughts on these big announcements?"

"Sorry, please let me through," Sora muttered as he lead Kairi through the small crowd. Based on past experience, the media this time was by far the smallest he has seen, since it was in front of the mall, but with Kairi with him, it was just as bad. Another thing that was strange was that no one has ever approached him in public and during his personal time.

Ever.

"What are your thoughts about your father's plans?"

"Sorry, I don't know much about my father's affairs. Please ask questions during the next press conference." Kairi felt scared as she felt Sora pull her by her wrist, having never experienced such a frantic crowd literally shoving her around to point those recorders at her. What was going on? Why was this happening? Where are they going?

Who in the world was Sora Hikari?

"Is it true that the CEO of Keywielders will step down and will soon hand over the company down to either you or Roxas Hikari?" Kairi had no idea what was going on, and the questions that were asked were really bizarre to her, but the one question that was heard the loudest was one that really made Sora stop on his tracks. Suddenly, the bombardment of questions eased down as everyone waited for the answer to the question everyone was seemingly dying for.

However, Sora wouldn't give them what they wanted.

"Words from me are not as full-proof as my father's; please wait until the next press conference." Sora continued to march onward towards his car, but in the middle of it, Kairi's hood managed to fall off her head, revealing her full face to the cameras. Sora quickly put it back on and walked faster towards the car. Once he successfully got both of them to car and into the streets, Kairi hesitantly pulled her hood off and looked over at him.

His steely eyes were fixed on the road, mouth shaped into tight, straight lines. The white of his knuckles clearly showed as he gripped the steering wheel with a death grip. Kairi held her hands tightly together on her lap as she felt the rough turns and lane changes he made. He was so scary at the moment; she didn't know what to do.

"I wonder why they were all there?" she tried lamely. However, it backfired.

"Probably because we were there at the arena. Someone probably saw us," he replied curtly, swerving to the left to change lanes on the freeway. She gulped. So it was her fault.

"I didn't know you were––"

"The son of the person who created the Keyblade? Yeah, a lot of people know, but you were one of the few who surprisingly didn't. It was refreshing while it lasted." Kairi bit her bottom lip; he sounded so bitter. "Well, he's actually my uncle, but whatever."

"It's not 'whatever' if you're going to sound like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're hurting." Sora didn't respond. Kairi fidgeted in her seat, not sure what else to say. As he drove on, Kairi looked out her window. The snow was light, but with the way the weather looks, it was probably going to be a white Christmas this year.

Strange, Roxas said it didn't snow often here.

"Did you know snandballs are––"

"Sorry about the––" Kairi sucked her lips in. Sora shut his mouth.

"You can go first––"

"What were you going to say?" Kairi and Sora looked at each other when they reached a stoplight and burst out laughing. Miraculously, the uneasiness in the air immediately dissipated, making Kairi slightly more comfortable.

"Sorry about the media," he started quickly, just in case Kairi decided to give it another go. "They saw your whole face, even though I tried to hide it. Um, I hope you won't be weirded out if you see, like, an unpopular article online with a picture of you on it or anything. It'll surf over the internet somewhere."

"Unpopular? Why would I be unpopular?" Kairi joked, throwing her hair over her shoulder, only to meet mostly air; she forgot she had cut her hair. Sora clicked his tongue at her fail and sighed.

"They're always thirsty for some news. It gets irritating. Sorry."

"It's okay. Are you okay though?"

"Not really, but I'll somehow manage." Kairi was expecting him to dodge her question with a simple confirmation, but he surprised her once more when he didn't. "Happens too many times. It'll somehow past this time." Inside, Sora didn't really see the light to his words.

But that also happened too many times.

"Is what they said true though? About the thing with your fath––uncle?"

"I really don't know. The company is like his baby––hearing him stepping down is a surprise for me too," Sora admitted. "The thing about passing it on to me is just unnecessary drama the media just wants to stir up."

"So it's not going to happen?"

"No, 'cause I have nothing to do with it."

"That's not what Namine told me."

"What?"

 _"Kairi, Kairi, you can't believe what I just sought knowledge upon! Exclusive knowledge!"_

 _"Yeah, yeah, what is it this time?" Kairi deadpanned as she tried to watch the latest episode of her drama. She was in Namine's room with Selphie out shopping like usual. She thought she was going to seek salvation from her demon roommate and watch in peace, but that wasn't going to happen if Namine continues her nerd explosion._

 _"Roxas gave me knowledge not known to anyone else! This is a gold mine, Kairi, a gold mine!"_

 _"Yeah, okay." Kairi tuned eighty percent of her hearing to her drama and twenty percent to Namine––she deserved at least that much for her excitement._

 _"I'm a huge fan of the Keyblade and how it works, like wow, technological advancements give me the chills! I think you know that already,"_

 _"Uh huh..." Kairi wondered when the guy was just going to kiss the girl already._

 _"And then I mentioned it to Roxas 'cause he suddenly looked familiar to me, you know? I never forget a face when I see one, so when I mentioned it, guess what I found out." Kairi inwardly squealed when the guy grabbed the girl's hand. "Kairi!"_

 _"Yeah, yeah, what?"_

 _"I found out that Roxas is the son of the inventor of the Keyblade, and I literally freaked out. I knocked the chair and everything because it was just phenomenal. I've watched so many videos on how it works and looked over the released codes that work the solid holograms, but it still wasn't enough. It was as if someone answered my questions and gave me the real deal in the flesh! Roxas Hikari! He said helped program a few of the things." Kairi felt her excitement grow as the guy stuttered on his love confession._

 _"Yeah," Kairi offered to let Namine she was still kind-of-listening-but-not-really._

 _"But when I asked about it more, he told me that Sora knew more than him. That surprised me so much! So I'm thinking of asking him about the Keyblade in order to indulge in quite a unique and knowledge-filled conversation! Should I, Kairi?" Kairi squealed when the guy finally held the girl close and kissed her. She rolled all over her bed to somehow express her happiness, but stopped when Namine cleared her throat._

 _"So should I?" Kairi bit her lip._

 _"Sure, it doesn't hurt."_

Now that Kairi really thought about it, her memory started to fill her in on her fangirl session with Namine––which was on completely different things––and made her tune back into the conversation as much she could remember. Kairi was a bad sister. Whenever Namine started to have her moments, she zoned her out, but Kairi was also a good sister: she didn't zone her out completely. Of course, she didn't remember exactly what Namine said, but she did remember her mention something about the Keyblade and Roxas's and Sora's names at least once, but she was too into her drama to even ask her to repeat what she said.

However, that was enough for her to be confident and confront Sora about it, especially with what happened earlier at the mall.

"I think your sister is mistaken." Another "however": Sora was always a step ahead of her, no matter what. "What did she say?"

And another "however": Kairi learned to catch up to him.

"She said you knew more than Roxas."

"About?"

"The Keyblade." She actually didn't hear Namine say that directly, but a no-brainer could easily piece together the picture at this point. Deep down, a little part of her was scared that her hunch was wrong, but she claimed a silent victory when Sora let out a deep breath.

"I hope you know that the piece of information you have right now can cause an uproar."

"Yeah, I'm having an inner uproar right now too."

"I'm serious right now. You don't know how dead serious I am, so stop." Kairi shut her mouth instantly. The tone of his voice shifted once more, like it always did, but this time, it was one that shook her to the bones––it was unrelenting, cold, and calculative. He swerved to the right and stopped the car next to the sidewalk of a street once they exited out the freeway. He literally almost bumped into the car parked behind him as he did so.

"Holy shit, Sora, be more careful with––"

"You have to promise me, Kairi." Kairi felt her nervousness levels raise when he rotated to face her. She never saw his face so grave and...

Frightened.

"What do you want me to promise you?" It barely came out louder than a whisper. Sora gripped the wheel tightly with his left hand while his right hand rested on the arm rest.

"You have to promise me that you will never mention my name and the Keyblade together in a sentence, _ever._ I don't want hear it, I don't want you to tell anyone, and I don't want you to just let it slip out.

"Rather, I just want you to forget it if you could."

"But I can't."

"Exactly. So just make sure you mouth is sealed tightly, okay?"

"You don't even need to warn me, 'cause I can at least catch the drift." She gave him a challenging look, which he returned with his intimidating one.

"This is the last time we ever talk about this."

"If that's what you want."

"And you need to make sure your sister doesn't start telling other people too."

"Easy."

"Please." Kairi kept her eyes on his––this was the longest time she ever looked at him without looking away. Fear, worry, sadness, anger, frustration––all of this swirled in those blue eyes of his. Behind that mask of his stood a frightened figure. Whatever this was all about, with the Keyblade and Roxas and his uncle, seemed to cause a tremendous amount of emotional burden on Sora, and it was so visible that Kairi just wanted to reach her hand out to help him.

But she couldn't––all she could do was stay quiet.

"Alright, I understand." Those words seemed to magically lift the pressure on his shoulders, and he visibly relaxed. He let out a small groan as he leaned back into his seat and took a breather. It was as if the whole thing gave him anxiety––which it probably did.

"Thank you."

"Yeah." Silence. Kairi scanned her eyes everywhere in the car. _When exactly was he going to move?_

"I hope you do realize we're on campus already. We're just behind the university, but you can go through a way that leads towards the girl's dormitory."

"Oh." _I guess I'm done here._ Awkwardly, Kairi took that as a signal to get out of his car and unbuckled her seatbelt. When she reached down to get her bags too, she was stopped from stepping out of his car when his hand gently pulled her back and away from the door.

"Wait." She tilted her head curiously to silently ask him what he wanted. Slowly, she watched as he got the small gift box that contained the bracelet he just bought from his coat pocket. He examined it for a second before placing it in her hand, which started to shake in disbelief the moment she got the gist of what he was doing.

"I thought––"

"I lied." He gave her a small smile, but Kairi didn't return it. Instead, she suddenly felt tears prick her eyes.

"Sora, I really won't tell anyone," she started, completely flustered. He frowned, not understanding what she was talking about now. "I really am not that low, despite what I say and do. So you don't really need to do this just to shut me up, so," she gave it back to him, "Don't worry about it." Sora remained confused as he tried to understand what she was saying, but when she was giving him that hurt look of hers that he somehow could never leave alone, he realized what the misunderstanding was.

"Kairi, that's not it. I––damn it, this girl." He exited out the car with a shut of the door and caught up to her because she moves too darn fast at the wrong moments. "Kairi!"

"What?" Kairi bit her bottom lip hard to make sure her emotions were kept at bay for once. She wanted to get to know him better, to learn more from the source himself, and to be somewhat more like actual friends at least. She thought she was slowly reaching the point she wanted, but it utterly failed. She did learn something about him, yes she did. She learned something the whole nation probably didn't know either.

But this wasn't how she wanted it to be–the way he looked at her like he did with the reporters, the way he coldly told her to forget and disregard everything. What was the point of getting to know someone if that someone didn't want you to in the first place? This feeling wasn't any different from the one she felt on the day he gave her the hand warmer.

She sighed.

 _Get yourself together._

When she collected herself, she opened her mouth to tell Sora once more that it was okay, but she gasped when he adamantly shoved the gift box into one of her coat pockets.

"Stop being a stupid idiot and take the damn thing," he said roughly. "It's not freaking bribery. I can't believe you think that lowly of me, Kailey."

"Huh?" Her eyes widened as she watched him kick at the snow in irritation.

"That," he pointed to her pocket, "is for you."

"Why would it be for me?" she blurted without thinking. Sora ran a hand through his hair; explaining his nice deeds was not a usual thing for him to do. People like Kairi and Riku really needed to learn how to read him without interrogating him all the time. "It's expensive too. Here, I'll pay you back and––"

"Happy early Christmas," he simply stated. "You were the last person on my gift list. I was planning to go tomorrow, but you presented me a convenient opportunity to get you a gift while testing it out, so yay." When Kairi continued to stare questions at him, he grew a bit unnerved. "Stop staring at me like that; you're making me feel uncomfortable."

"Sorry." Sora fumbled with his phone in his hands, not knowing what else to say. He never had to justify himself when giving someone a present _ever._

Kairi sure was making him experience things he could live without.

"There isn't anything complicated to explain," he tried one last time when Kairi still remained awestruck. "You're my...friend." Kairi watched as his cheeks started to burn. He put on his hood. "Stop making me say embarrassing things, holy shit. Stop questioning me, too. Mother of moogles, please."

Kairi burst out laughing before taking out the gift box to examine it. She twirled it around and jokingly tossed it up in the air like some ball before catching it and smiling.

"Thanks, Sora."

"Yeah, no problem. Just go back in and let me recover. I'm mentally traumatized right now."

~.~.~

"Dad, you can't be serious. Are you being serious right now?" Roxas slammed a hand on the table. Both his parents stared at him in surprise. Never had Roxas flared out his temper at the dinner table before.

"Sit down, dear," Mrs. Hikari said, trying to calm her son, but it was in vain.

"I can't believe you're doing to this to me, to Sora, to his dad––"

"What my decisions will be are final," Mr. Hikari curtly interrupted, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "You really have no say in this." Roxas never wanted to smash glass before, but the dishware looked very desirable at the moment.

"I don't care what you plan to do with the company, but don't give it to me. Give it to Sora because it rightfully belongs to him and his––"

"Roxas, sit down!" Mrs. Hikari screeched. Roxas instantly closed his mouth. "You're giving me a headache with this nonsense you're spitting out. Sora this and Sora that––who gives a damn about that inconsiderate child. Roxas, my dear, you've worked harder than him by far. My little angel, listen to you father, okay? He's just thinking about your future. He doesn't want it to be hard on you, okay?" Roxas tried not to shake in anger, but it was beginning to get hard not to. Fisting his hands together, he stood up and pushed in his chair.

"I'm done with dinner. Please excuse me."

~.~.~

Xion stared plainly at her roommates side of the room. Then, in one movement, she charged up to her desk and knocked everything over onto the ground with one sweep of her arms. She screamed in anguish, staring at Kairi's bed.

"If only you and your sister never appeared in the picture."

~.~.~

Vanitas stared blankly at his phone as he scrolled through his phone. The hotel heater was making his skin dry, making his mood worse than what it already was. He flicked his thumb against the screen, sadly smiling.

Sadly smiling at all the happy photos he had with Kairi.

* * *

Many words: college, scholarships, graduation, and two month vacation :( Barely found time for writing (please don't kill me) I made this chapter longer than usual (well tried to) to compensate, so I hope you guys enjoyed. I'm half dead as I post this at 3 AM so. Expect regular updates (I hope) This summer got me busy too so... I'M NOT LEAVING THIS FANFIC THOUGH SO NO WORRIES! Sorry for those who have waited and thank you for those who are reading! Leave a review about how this chapter was because I felt like I dropped a lot of things in it :) Lowkey scared there's going to be plotholes because i feel like that's just how I am as a writer ;DDDDD


	14. Chapter 14

_"Xion, check this out. I think you'll like it." Sora took her hand and eagerly lead her into his room, which was clattered with so many metal parts that his room looked like some warehouse._

 _"Wait, Sora, you're going to make me trip on something," she laughed as she tip-toed over the things that were strewn across the floor. He excitedly sat himself on his spinning chair and turned on his computer. As it started, he began to work his hands on some small, but very complicated, circular projector. Xion merely sat on his bed and watched the nerd in his habitat with a small smile._

 _"I had been working and helping out my late dad work on this one project of his when he was still alive," Sora explained, "I think I told you that already."_

 _"Yes, yes you have," Xion confirmed. "Many, many times already." Sora blushed before booting up a program that had all of the codes written for whatever he was going to show Xion. Turning on a few switches and connecting wires together, he ran the program and waited._

 _"Well, I think I've finished the program for this one thing he had been trying to accomplish. I took me_ _ **forever.**_ _Come here." Xion, having never seen Sora so excited, curiously walked up to his desk to see what he was referring to. When she saw what it was, she gasped in surprise._

 _"Oh my gosh, what is this?" Sora carefully lifted some white sticker, but since this was Sora, Xion knew it wasn't just any sticker. He signaled her to give him her hand, which she did, and attached the white sticker on her finger._

 _"Try touching it." Confused, she did what she was told and tried to run her finger through the hologram, but she couldn't._

 _Because it was a solid hologram._

 _"Holy crap, I can touch it!" She took a step back in surprise as Sora laughed heartily._

 _"Right?" He patted the head of the black creature that was standing on the projector, which responded with a shake of its head like some dog. He grinned boyishly as he took out some sort of metal thing that was oddly shaped like a key from his drawer. Like the projector, it looked complex, with a ton of wires and small microchips attached on the finger-length metal. As Xion looked at it closely, she realized that it actually_ _ **was**_ _a key._

 _"Sora, is that your house key?" Xion asked cautiously. Sora shrugged._

 _"I can't saw anything in the house, much less in my room, so this is the only material I had. I want to stay true to my dad's vision of a sword shaped like a key, so here it is. But anyway, this isn't what I wanted to show you." He pushed up his large-framed glasses up his nose before taking a toothpick and using it to flip on a small, barely-visible switch on the side. Then, with a small swing using his thumb and index finger, he brought the key down on the black creature. Immediately, the creature dissolved and exploded into tiny pixels, causing Xion to gape at the now empty projector._

 _"Whoa."_

 _"Cool, right? You don't know how long I spent writing the program for all this and making that one tiny sensor that's on your finger right now. Oh, those tireless, tireless nights."_

 _"Is that why you look like a zombie every single day?"_

 _"Well, I'm not just your average computer geek."_

 _"That's incredible, Sora. Really. I can only imagine you accomplishing all this because you work so hard. What a smarty you are." Sora smiled shyly at the praise as they clasped and swung their hands together lightly._

 _"Thanks, Xion. This means a lot to me, so. I'm still really, really far from the plan my dad had, but I feel, I don't know, closer to him when I do all this. It's a fun hobby too, so." Xion disconnected one of their hands and ruffled his hair lightly in an affectionate manner._

 _"I'm sure your dad would be happy too to see his son working on his project towards completion." Xion slid her hand from his head to cup his cheek, which he nuzzled against._

 _"I hope he is." Sora found the silence between them comforting as he reveled in what he had accomplished so far. He never told anyone about his secret hobbies––not even Riku––but Xion was different. She seemed to understand him and didn't seem to judge him either on what he did, so he felt safe telling her all the things he used to do with his dad and the goal he currently had. He chuckled._

 _He liked her a lot._

 _"Hey, Xi––"_

 _"By the way, where's Roxas? Is he home?" His smile faltered a bit. Xion looked at the door and let out a hum. "I haven't seen him all day."_

 _"Not sure. I think he's been going to track practice." Xion let out a silent "oh" and giggled._

 _"You guys sure are the complete opposite." Sora felt a bit irritated and tugged on her hand._

 _"Which opposite do you like then?" At that time, Sora didn't see the moment of hesitance Xion had before she broke into a smile._

 _"Of course you, silly."_

~ _December 18th~_

"What the fuck, you know where Sora lives?" Kairi widened her eyes when Riku suddenly took a close, close step to her with his eyes also wide in astonishment. When he realized that he was seriously invading her personal space, he took a step back and muttered an apology.

Currently, they were in line to buy some coffee. Kairi had coincidentally bumped into him in the sidewalk when they both approached the door of the cafe shop at the same time. Being the gentleman he was, Riku opened the door for her and entered the cafe with her. They were just talking about where they were staying for the one-month break, where both found out that they were staying in the dorms for people who chose not to go home, when the subject of Sora and where he stayed was brought up by Riku.

"Um, don't you know? Since you're, I don't know, his––"

"His best friend? Yeah, that's questionable now––no offense to you or anything, Kairi." She laughed and waved it off with a hand as she took another step forward in the long line. "I don't think any of us know where he lives, so." Kairi frowned.

"And why is that?"

"You tell me." Kairi put a finger to her cheek as she traced her memories back to the first moments she met Sora.

"Well, because his wrist was jacked up because of me––which you were there to see in the flesh––he insisted that I drove him home and stuff." Riku narrowed his eyes at this.

"We drove him home many times before too, but he never actually allowed us to drive directly to it."

"What? He didn't say anything about that to me." Riku immediately took out his phone and began to type furiously into it.

"This bitch, I'm going to ask him what his address right now, and if he refuses to give it to me, I'm going to hold you hostage." Kairi laughed at Riku's fury and allowed him time to do exactly that as she took a step towards the cash register to order her drink.

"One caramel macchiato, please."

After they got their drinks, Riku and Kairi found a two-seat table and sat themselves on it. Kairi had no plans for the day, and neither did Riku, so it worked out. Namine was out somewhere––she never did say where she was going––and everyone else that she knew had already gone home for the break.

"Oh, I never go home," Riku answered when Kairi asked. "Let's just say I like it better here." Kairi didn't dig into it further, since Riku sounded slightly uncomfortable when she asked. "How about you?"

"Namine and I probably will later in the break, but not now before Christmas. Both our parents are super busy during that time period because of work, so we might as well just have time to ourselves here before we go home for family time." Riku hummed in understanding as he sipped his drink. Kairi noticed the way his muscles seemed to ripple with just a simple movement of bringing the cup to his lips. Riku noticed her stare and grinned, flexing one of his arms.

"I work out a lot."

"Yeah, I can tell, Buff Boy."

"Ooo, that's a new one. No one has called me that. It's usually 'Showy Bastard' and 'Muscle Bitch,' creds to Axel for the second one." Kairi nearly spat out her drink as she half choked and half laughed at the nicknames Riku listed out. _What kind of names are those?_

"I had calc with Axel. He sounds like a... peculiar person," she said hesitantly, not sure how to describe Axel without sounding mean. Riku sensed Kairi's caution and rolled his eyes.

" _Pfft_ , don't worry and go ahead and call him a wild dumbass; he won't take any offense." Kairi laughed again. She could see how Riku picked up the girls with his humor. She found him extremely easy to talk to, despite not really interacting with him a lot. "He doesn't know what public humiliation means, so it's embarrassing to be around him all the time, along with Hayner. I think the only thing keeping me sane in the group is Sora; he's the most level-headed out of all of us."

"Doesn't surprise me," Kairi droned, sipping her drink. "He's so serious and grumpy all the time." Riku sighed.

"He wasn't always like that. If you ever could meet his high school self, your eyes will literally pop out and drop on the ground. He was the most annoying, loud, immature, geeky, bubbly kid I've ever met." Kairi put her cup down on the table with a thud.

"No way."

"I shit you not. I don't know much about what happened, but he just went dark." Before Kairi could comment more on the topic, Riku's phone vibrated on the table. "Speak of the devil, look at how this asshole replies now." He turned his phone over to let Kairi see what he was talking about.

 _the moment i tell you where i live, my place is going to blow up, so no. also, tell kairi that if she ever shows you where i live, she will also be put on my blacklist_

"He's late in the game if he's just putting me on his blacklist now 'cause he's been on mine since day one."

"Damn. Get burned, Sora, get burned." Kairi put up a peace sign as she scrolled through her own phone.

"Hey, Riku."

"Yeah?"

"I'll take up your offer on showing me a skateboard place."

"What?" Kairi raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Remember?" She broke an imaginary stick in half with her hands. "My skateboard?" It took a while for Riku to recall what she was talking about, but when it did, he grinned.

"Oh yeah, I know a rad place. You're going to love it."

~.~.~

"Um, Xion, what would you like?" Namine asked as she nervously fingered the menu of the restaurant they were at. She grew uncomfortable as Xion continued to sit with both her legs and arms crossed and stare at the menu with a blank stare.

"Ice water is all I'll have. I ate already." Namine grew confused; then why did she invite her out here then? Feeling a bit awkward if it was only her eating, she merely ordered hot chocolate as well.

"Are you sure you don't want anything hot? It's kind of cold and––"

"No, water is fine." Namine stopped trying and fumbled with her hands on her lap underneath the table. She wondered what Xion had to say, since she never really talked to her in the first place. Kairi had always complained about Xion's attitude, but she never disclosed what was so detestable about her.

"How's your break coming along?"

"Fine."

"Oh. Do you have any plans for celebration and stuff?"

"None you need to know about. Oh, actually," Xion smiled for the first time, making Namine feel a bit relieved, but the next thing she said made her smile falter. "I'm going out with a friend of mine on Christmas. I think you might know him. Roxas?"

"Oh," Namine repeated. The smile Xion gave her unnerved her greatly. "Yeah, I do know him." Before Xion could say anything more, Namine beat her to it. "I'm actually going to Twilight Square with him too on Christmas Eve. I think he's going to show me around the place, since I really haven't had the chance to explore downtown Twilight Town." Namine thought it was an okay thing to say, since Xion was the one who mentioned him first, but she grew uneasy once more when a dark look crossed Xion's features.

"So you are the reason why he was busy on the twenty-fourth?" Xion said under her breath, but Namine heard her, loud and clear.

"Excuse me?" The waitress came right at that moment to deliver them their iced water and hot chocolate. Namine thanked the waitress and stirred her hot chocolate, looking anywhere but Xion's eyes.

"Stop hanging around Roxas like some dog." Namine didn't even drink out of her cup when it made contact with her lips. She widened her eyes and slowly put the cup down, hands trembling slightly.

"Um, what did you say?" Namine said quietly, not sure if she heard Xion right. Xion rolled her eyes.

"Let's not play the innocent card here, you two-faced witch. I don't know what you're doing to Roxas, but let's stop it." Namine forced a smile.

"Xion, I'm not sure if I'm understanding what you're sayi––"

"Please wipe that smile off your face, it's disgusting." It was easy to drop the smile. "Do you know you waste his time a lot?" Namine stared at Xion, taking a while to let all of her words sink in. "He's the son of the CEO of Keywielders; he has a lot to do."

"I would assume he would," Namine said slowly, not wanting to pick a fight. "But if he was busy, I think he would tell me." Xion rolled her eyes, as if she couldn't believe what Namine was saying.

"Roxas is too polite and obsessively nice; of course he wouldn't tell you, so that's why I'm telling you right now for him." Namine tried smiling again as she gripped her hot chocolate tighter.

"He must be a very close friend to you."

"He's my best friend––of course he is." Namine found it really hard to keep her smile intact.

"But I think if he was busy, he would––"

 _Splash!_

"I actually just invited you here to do just this because you piss me off," Xion growled as she slammed the now-empty cup of water. Namine gasped as the coldness seeped into her clothes and made contact with her skin. She wiped the water off her face as she stared up at Xion. "Stop hindering him, alright? If not, you and your sister will see me around a lot more than you would like." As if wanting to make Namine feel more shameful, she slapped a few bills on the table that was well over the cost of the ice water and hot chocolate combined.

"Don't worry, it's on me."

~.~.~

"Don't worry, I know this guy," Riku insisted when he saw Kairi take out her purse. "You'll hook me up on this one, right, Cid?" Cid, the owner of the skateboard shop that they were at, examined the two broken halves of the skateboard that Kairi gave to him and grinned as he balanced a cigar between his lips.

"No problem, Riku. This is easy to fix too." Kairi eyes glowed at the news and said her thanks before they left the broken skateboard behind to get fixed.

"Thanks, Riku, for taking me," Kairi said appreciatively as they walked back to his car. "Ever since it got broken, I wasn't sure on what to do with it."

"Anytime, although the 'yes' to my offer was a little bit long overdue." Kairi smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, you were a, uh, suspicious stranger back then, y'know." Riku gasped and dramatically put a hand over his chest as he gaped at Kairi.

"You break my heart and pride as a hot guy," Kairi rolled her eyes, "But anyway... where do you want me to drop you off?"

"Hm, the university is o––" _Ring!_ Kairi rummaged through her bag for her phone and gave Riku a sheepish look before answering it.

 _Namine._ "Hey, Namine, what's up?"

"Kairi..." Kairi was about to ask Namine what she was doing to suddenly disappear on her in the morning until she heard a few sniffs on the other end. Kairi frowned.

"Namine, are you crying?" Riku frowned to show his concern as the urgency in Kairi's voice rose. "Namine, where are you right now?"

"Some restaurant," she said. Kairi could tell Namine was trying her best not to break into sobs.

"Text me the address, and I'll be there immediately."

It wasn't long until Kairi found the place Namine sent, since it was just a fifteen-minute walk away from the university. The moment Riku stopped his car, Kairi bolted out of the door and towards the entrance of the restaurant, where Namine stood––shivering, cold, and wet under the roof the restaurant.

"Kairi," Namine said shakily as she grasped Kairi's arms. Kairi widened her eyes as she looked Namine up from head to toe.

"What did you do to get yourself so wet?" Namine shook her head and forced a smile as she ran a hand through her blonde locks.

"A little accident. Is that Riku? Can you get me back on campus? It's kind of too cold to walk through these winds." Kairi shook her head and glared at Namine in order to cough up the answer from her.

"Who did this to you?" Namine bit her bottom lip, as if not wanting to talk about it. However, Kairi was not going to let this one slide. "Just tell me what happened, or else I'm really going to get mad at you." Namine sighed.

"It's just that Xion––"

"So it's that fucking bitch, isn't it?" Riku blinked rapidly; he had never heard Kairi cuss in such a way before.

"Kairi, you didn't let me fin––"

"Riku, turn on the heater to the max for her." Kairi opened the backseat door and ushered Namine in despite Namine's attempts to reason and explain things with her.

"Kairi, wait, don't do anything rash!" Kairi didn't listen to Namine as she stormed off towards the direction of the university, rage burning as she sought after the person who did this to her sister.

"Kairi, you can just get in the car and I'll––she's so fucking pissed, isn't she? God, why does traffic have to happen now, I can't get my car off the sidewalk!"

Kairi didn't know where her feet were taking her, but she knew where her anger was. The university was the most probable place the witch would be, so Kairi stomped and kicked through the snow as she half-ran back to campus. She didn't care if the cold was biting at her skin––her frustration was enough to warm her back up.

The more the days passed in that room she shared with Xion, the more she grew readily insane. When she returned back to her room after her shopping spree, she found her table swiped clean with all the things on it scattered on the floor. Xion was merely at her own desk, staring blankly at her laptop screen. When she noticed Kairi's return, she flashed that fake smile of hers and laughed sheepishly.

"I got slightly drunk during the day," came the lie that was as obvious as daylight. Kairi's fingers twitched involuntarily as she looked at the mess before smiling it off too.

"It's okay. At least my laptop wasn't on there."

That day, she tried her best not to tackle the blue-haired bitch.

But she wasn't afraid to do that today.

"I don't really care. I'm free whenever," Sora said rather blankly as he rapped his knuckles against the table that they sat at that was right near the gate of the university. "I have nothing much to do anyway." Xion clapped her hands together in delight as she smiled brightly.

"That's great! Are you free on the twenty-fourth?" Sora widened his eyes a bit. _Right on Christmas Eve?_

"Sure, but won't you be busy on that day?"

"That's actually the only day I'm free. It seems like everyone else is busy that day and no one fit me in their schedule, so."

"I see." Xion tilted her head forward slightly to make eye contact with him, something he hadn't been doing a lot since they met up, which was strange.

 _He always looked at me with those stupid, lovesick eyes of his._

"Is something wrong?" Xion asked innocently as she tried to make him look at her. Sora seemed to snap out of his trance and turned to face her. He gave a small, apologetic smile. "Something seems to be in that always-thinking mind of yours."

"Nothing much. Just stuff." It wasn't only Xion who was questioning him; he was questioning himself too. He was usually excited whenever Xion called him up for an outing, or just called him out in general. This was exactly what she did today.

But how come he just kept thinking about what Riku could be doing with Kairi?

"Sora," Sora felt his heart jump a bit when Xion clasped one of his hands that was rested on his knee, "You can't flake on me, okay? I have something really, really important to tell you!" Sora's cheeks tinted a bit as he gently took his hand back before nodding.

"Yeah, have I ever?" Xion gave him another smile, which he couldn't help but return this time. However, it dissolved quickly. It was as if the sky was kind of answering his secret question when a familiar redhead suddenly appeared from the side of the gate and into plain view in front of him. She looked heated as she turned her head all over the place, as if she was looking for something. Sora had never been scared of Kairi before to an extent, but he never feared her as much as he did the moment her eyes locked onto the two of them, and her body began to saunter towards them with aggravated stomps.

"Kairi, wait, wait wait!" He saw Riku approach a few seconds later, as if he had been chasing Kairi, but it was too late.

"What's going o––ow!" Sora didn't have time to react as Kairi ripped Xion away from the table and forced her to stand up.

"Honestly, I'm so fucking sick of you," Kairi spat right in her face, gripping her arm with a force she didn't know she had in her––Kairi was never a violent person, but this girl was seriously testing the waters. "It was okay for you to mess with me and those around me and drive me to the point of insanity with those bitch stares you give me every single damn day.

"But if you dare do anything to my sister like that again, I'm not afraid to do something about it."

"Why are you suddenly attacking me for no reason?" Xion shouted as she tried to tug her arm back to her side. "There's a limit of how much of a wild animal you can be!" Kairi felt a vein pop at the innocent facade she was putting up.

"And there's a limit on how much of a fake bitch you can be!" Xion grabbed Kairi's hair in retaliation. "Let go of me!"

"Not until you let go of my arm first, you beast!"

"You two, stop it!" Riku shouted as he grabbed Kairi and tried to remove her from Xion. It was hard; Kairi was a lot stronger than she looked. Sora quickly took action and tried to intervene in between them as Riku made an effort to separate the two. However, it was extremely difficult since Xion had the grip of King Kong while Kairi had the firepower of Godzilla.

"Guys, I don't know what happen, but let's just talk it out like civilized peop––whoa!" Kairi managed to remove herself from Xion, but she turned towards Sora and pushed him away with as much force as she could muster. Not expecting it, Sora stumbled backwards and landed his bottom right on the snow.

"And you!" Kairi hissed. She breathed heavily as she tried to fix the mess on her hair. Sora widened his eyes; he had never seen Kairi so angry before. He stood back up, but he had to back away when Kairi took another step towards him. Riku pulled her back by grabbing both her shoulders before she could do something worse than just a push. "She's manipulating me, you, my sister, Roxas, _everyone!_ How much longer are you going to defend her and get stringed along by this _nightmare_ like some retarded puppet?" Xion dropped her jaw, clearly offended.

"See, Sora, I told you she had an attitude problem!" Sora was too confused at what was going on to side with anyone at the moment. Riku continued to keep Kairi restrained just in case she decided to jump on either of the two again.

"Kairi," Sora approached cautiously; she was just like a ticking time bomb. "How about we calm down and have a talk over a nice cup of tea and maybe we can sort this out?"

"There's nothing to sort out since everything that came out of my mouth is the dead, damn truth, so shut up, you spiky-haired moron!" If the situation wasn't so dire, Riku would've burst out laughing. Sora merely gaped at Kairi as her harsh words slowly processed through his brain. Kairi turned her fierce glare back at Xion.

"And you. I honestly don't know how and why you still have friends," Kairi continued to snap, "I really don't know since you have that conniving and twisted personality of yours. Whatever, I really don't care if it gets fixed or not––you should though if you want to see a brighter future––but if you or your 'best friend' ever approach my sister again, this isn't the last time you'll see me."

"Kairi, stop," Sora demanded, stepping by Xion's side. He didn't like how Kairi was continuously spouting degrading comments, regardless of whatever Xion did. At the moment, it was Xion who was being attacked mercilessly.

Right?

But he knew he was wrong the moment Kairi's anger evolved into a look of betrayal.

"Yeah, I'll stop. It doesn't seem like my point will go through any of you," she replied lowly before shrugging Riku off. "Heed my warning, Xion." Feeling that she won't lunge at anyone anymore, Riku took a step to aside and allowed Kairi to storm back from where she came from. Sora stared at her shrinking figure as he chewed the inside of his cheek.

"Gosh, I always knew she was a bit crazy. I didn't know when she was going to explode at me." She dusted herself off and felt around her arm. "She has a killer grip."

"I'm going to get going now," Riku said slowly. He didn't want to be there any longer, especially when the two of them were together. When he made eye contact with Sora, Sora couldn't help but feel worse.

It was as if he was disappointed with him too.

"C'ya later," Sora replied glumly. Riku merely offered a small smile before he went the same way as Kairi, disappearing behind the brick walls lining next to the gate of the university. Xion huffed indignantly, as if she had been severely wronged. She looked over at Sora, expecting him to fuss over her like he usually did, but he didn't. He simply just kicked at the snow.

"Are you okay, Sora? She even pushed you," Xion said worriedly. Sora hesitantly took a small step back when Xion reached a hand towards him. It wasn't much distance, but it was still noticeable.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I haven't been feeling well since the morning. I think I should go back to my place and get some more shut-eye." Xion didn't seem to believe him, but she nodded.

"If you ever need to talk," she motioned with her fingers, "Call me?"

"Yeah. I will."

For the first time ever, Sora held no truth to that statement.

~ _December 20th~_

After his father gave out the hint that he was stepping down––he never really declared he would, but the news sure is sharp––Roxas's brain was ready to explode from it all.

"What to do, what to do..." Roxas rolled all over his bed in agitation as he tried to do something about _everything_ that was going wrong, but nothing popped up in his mind. He clutched his hair with a hand as a way to vent his anger. "Darn." He rolled over to the other side, where his hand hit his phone. Momentarily, his mind found relief as he unlocked it to check the messages, but was brought down again when he found that there was no reply.

For some reason, Namine stopped replying to his messages. "I wonder what happened." He let his down his phone, but he eagerly clutched it again when he heard it ring.

However, it wasn't a message he neither expected nor wanted.

 _Stay away from my sister._

Oddly enough, he merely laughed when he read it. It first started with a few chuckles, which evolved into hearty laughter.

And then it finally dissolved into crying as he threw his phone down on the ground to join some wrecked Keyblade he found no purpose of working on anymore.

"Guess I really don't deserve any happiness."

~.~.~

"Kairi, I think that's a little bit too much," Namine insisted as she watched her older sister send the warning to Roxas. She had tried to talk her sister out of it, but Kairi refused to budge even by an inch. Currently, they were in the temporary room that the university allowed them to stay in for winter break, since the dorms had to be closed for the winter break.

"It's not too much."

"It is. It's not Roxas's fault that this happened, so I don't think you should vent out your anger on him like this." Kairi looked up from her phone and glared at Namine.

"Not his fault? Namine, I'm sorry to say this, but any friend of Xion's is an enemy of ours."

"And why is that?"

"Because they're bound to hurt us either directly or indirectly––it doesn't matter how. Namine, what she did is unacceptable, and if Roxas and whoever's on her side does nothing about it, then we're not going to associate ourselves with them anymore."

"Kairi––"

"If they won't do anything about her, then we will by staying away from anything that's related to her," Kairi's gaze softened, "I don't want you to get hurt. It's obvious that Xion hates both our guts right now for stupid, immature reasons. Until this somehow sorts out by itself, it's best for us not to be near Roxas, or else she's going to murder us some day." The last part was meant to be a joke, but it didn't make either of them laugh.

"How about Sora?" Kairi bit her bottom lip.

"Him too. He's beyond help."

"What do you mean?" Kairi sighed and looked away.

"He'll always be on her side." Sensing that Sora was a sensitive topic for Kairi, Namine dropped the topic. By now, it was clear to her that Kairi had a new love interest in her life, but now was not the time to satiate her curiosity. Instead, she let out a hum and quickly changed the subject.

"I don't understand Xion's intentions." Kairi let out a snort.

"I sure do."

"Really?" Namine never did get enlightened with facts about Xion, so Kairi didn't find it surprising that Namine had no idea about Xion's devilish character.

"She's one of those people who hate it when one of their toys is stolen," Kairi explained nonchalantly as she walked back and forth in their room, "The type who hates it when things don't go their way. Since she has a very strange obsession with Roxas––don't ask how I know 'cause I just know––and a manipulative personality towards Sora, she doesn't like it when people, aka us, jump into the picture." Kairi stopped to make sure Namine understood what she was saying before continuing. "Didn't know that kind of mentality still existed in college, but I guess it takes longer for some people to grow up."

"I didn't know she was that type of person."

"You don't see her every morning and every night; that's why."

"Good point."

"And so," Kairi flopped back onto her bed and snuggled into her blankets, "Let her cause her own destruction because people like her usually doesn't last long. You won't be away from your lover for too long, so don't worry." Namine instantly burned red at Kairi's unnecessary comment at the end and threw a pillow at her.

"Stop."

"Can't stop the truth, dear sis, but enough. Five more days until Christmas. Let's stop talking about this depressing matter and binge-watch on some Christmas movies, shall we?"

~ _December 21st_ ~

Sora scrolled through his phone mindlessly as his eyes barely skimmed the headlines of articles that were listed through his specific search.

 _Will Keywielders See a New Future with a New Leader?_

 _Roxas Hikari, the New Face of Keywielders?_

 _Different Future for Keyblading; Possibility of New CEO_

 _Sora Hikari, Possible Heir of World-Renowned Company: Keywielders_

The last article he saw before he shut his phone made his eye twitch irritably. The last time he saw a reliable news source that actually stuck to a truth supported with raw facts was _never._

 _Ha, I make myself laugh._

All jokes aside, Sora couldn't believe how much of a rumble the media was stirring just because of a small and simple statement his uncle made.

 _"Keywielders will soon experience a new generation with me watching its growth and success at the sidelines."_

After he came back home from dropping off Kairi, he had to see what had people fussing around him. Going online, he searched for the latest interview his uncle had and tortured himself by watching the whole forty-minute video. Sora tried really hard not to gag and scrunch up his face in disapproval every time his uncle mentioned the future plans of the Keyblade.

Though, he had to admit; the statement he made was a little bit misleading and also reckless. However, it could've meant many things.

 _Maybe it's for publicity_.

But at the end, Sora couldn't help but assume the same thing everyone else assumed.

Sora sighed and put away his phone when Axel's mom came out with a plate of Christmas cookies shaped like Christmas trees and candy canes. He was never going to find out what his uncle had in mind unless he confronted either him or Roxas about it.

Which he obviously wasn't going to do. In the end, Sora was just curious.

"It has nothing to do with me."

"What has nothing to do with you?" Sora looked up to see Axel standing over him with a cookie. Sora managed a small smile to cover up the slip-up and took the cookie.

"Nothing." Having gotten used to Sora's enigmatic personality, Axel simply muttered an "okay" and sat down between Sora and Hayner to join the circle of friends. Currently, they were all sitting in front of the Christmas tree in Axel's living room for a small, early Christmas party. The drive to his house was tedious. With regular traffic, it took only forty minutes, but with the snow piling up slowly, it took Sora a good whooping hour and a half. The only thing that kept him alive from the boredom was Riku's and Hayner's banter at the backseat about who the hottest girl in some video game was. They must've been void of girls for too long for them to stoop down and talk about video game girls, especially Hayner.

"I told you there wasn't much at my house," Axel sighed as he watched a few of his friends mess with the ornaments on the Christmas tree.

"That's alright 'cause we're going to turn it up soon, am I right?" one of his friends asked. Sora didn't even know his name. He always just referred to him as the girly pink-haired guy who had a strange obsession with flowers. In fact, that's how Sora referred to almost all Axel's friends: with a hair color and a strange trait.

"Um, what's his name again?" Riku whispered to Sora. He snickered––he wasn't the only one.

"How am I supposed to know?" Sora whispered back as he leaned his back against the sofa. "I don't talk to any of his friends 'cause they're a bit..."

 _Crash!_

"Holy shit, Marluxia, that's my mom's favorite clay pot!"

"Fuck, sorry dude, it just looked so fun to toss and––bro, I couldn't resist." Riku put a hand over his face while Sora put two fingers on his temple in severe question.

"They're a bit what?"

"A bit retarded." Sora meant to actually say "out of this world" but he easily found another word.

"And no, we're not going to turn it up," Axel growled when blonde-haired crazy guitar guy started to do body rolls in front of the fireplace. "My parents are at home right now, and––"

"Didn't you tell me they were going to go out to so night club two days ago on this very day?"

"..."

- _2 Hours Later-_

"Axel, please get off of me, _please!_ " Sora walked through the dimly lit room as the music boomed and the crowd––which oddly increased in size from the last time he counted––continued to show the world disturbing dance moves. The moment Axel's parents left the house, boxes of beer just popped out of nowhere and the speakers were turned up to the maximum. Being responsible for both Hayner and Riku, Sora simply stood in the corner to wait until the whole cursed thing was done and sought amusement through his phone, but it wasn't much if Axel refused to give him his wi-fi password.

He wondered why he became friends with a bunch of wild party-goers.

When he thought he would be left in peace in his corner, Axel decided to just glomp on him from behind like some monkey and direct him towards the center of the living room, where things were the most "turnt."

"Sora, you look so miserable in the corner," Axel screamed right into his ear, "Why don't you be wild for once?" Sora nearly choked when Axel's arms circled around his neck.

"The last time I was wild, I ended up in some unknown girl's house," Sora groaned as he lugged the gigantic flamehead all across the room. He felt like he was in some sort of comedy skit as him and Axel struggled to walk together as a single unit. "Ever since then, I've decided to remain holy so that I don't end up, I don't know, five-hundred miles away from home."

And he was secretly scared he was going to go and text random people, especially a certain someone, wild messages again.

"Bro, that ain't even that bad! I ended up on the other side of the map once!" If it was any other regular person, Sora would've taken it as a joke, but considering this was Axel, he actually didn't know if he was joking or not.

Seemed like an Axel-thing to do.

"Just get off."

"You look so lonely. Here, I'll be your redhead friend for tonight." Sora widened his eyes.

"Excuse me?" For some strange reason, Sora felt his face flare up as Axel released him. Sora turned around and looked at Axel, who was just smirking as he stood there holding a cup of what Sora would like to be water.

"You've been checking your messages a lot since you came here." Was he really? He didn't recall. "It's like you're expecting a certain someone."

"It's not Kairi, if that's what you're thinking."

"I never said it was Kairi."

"But you just said––"

"What did I just say, hm?" Sora didn't like how hot he was feeling––it must've been the heat from being in the center of all the activity. He couldn't stand Axel's look of victory and brushed past him to go back to his corner. Running a hand through his hair, he repeatedly bumped the side of his head against the wall as he checked his phone again. He hated it when Axel decided to be perceptive because he had a special talent at it. No one really took him seriously for obvious reasons, but Sora was one of the people who knew Axel was more than just that.

"How about you just relax for once?" It was Riku's turn to deal with the uptight boy. Sora sighed and shoved his phone back into his pocket. Riku handed him a drink, which Sora hesitantly took.

"Who's going to drive?"

"I will." Sora gaped at Riku and looked him straight in the eye because that's the only way Sora could do to see if Riku was serious or not.

"But––"

"I haven't even drunk anything yet."

"... Whoa."

"Is it that surprising?"

"This is Riku Solari I'm talking about, the party animal." Riku bumped Sora's head lightly with a slap and chuckled.

"I can restrain myself for one day. I want my best buddy to stop having a frown etched on his face all the time." All of a sudden, a wave of guilt washed over Sora as he looked at Riku's small smile; he must've been casting a dark mood over the happy holiday spirits. "I know a lot's been on your mind. I've seen the news too. You must hate the spotlight." Riku didn't know anything about Sora and the Keyblade, but he knew enough based on his family issues that it was a sensitive topic for Sora. "So just get buzzed or something. I'll keep an eye on you, you bad drunk."

"I'm not a bad drunk."

"Says the person who ended in someone's house that one––"

"Please stop reminding me of that terrible incident." Riku winked at the spiky brunet and pushed him towards the people.

"It seems like you haven't seen Axel and Larxene in action yet. I think you're the only one who hasn't, so go spy on him and embarrass him later."

~ _Christmas Eve~_

"Hey, Namine, I got something for you." Namine, who just came out of the shower, raised an eyebrow at Kairi. Kairi was expecting Namine's eyes to light up or something, but a suspicious look crossed her features instead.

"Is it clothes again? Look, Kairi, I appreciate you looking after your little sister, but your taste in clothes––oh, it's not clothes?" Kairi shook her head the moment Namine mentioned clothes. She went up to Namine who stood in front of the mirror to brush her blonde locks.

"I think you're going to like this one gift for once." Namine rolled her eyes.

"I like all your gifts, Kairi, despite them being a bit––oh my gosh, what is this?" Kairi had taken out the necklace from the gift box she kept hidden in her bag and clipped it around Namine's neck from behind when she least expected it. Namine had her eyes bulging out of her sockets as she fingered the gem while Kairi took her hair from underneath the chain.

"Merry Christmas, little sis," Kairi giggled. "I don't think I've ever given you jewelry before, so here you go!" Namine smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror and turned around to give Kairi a hug.

"Aw, you shouldn't have had. How bad did it eat your savings?"

"Compared to my own personal things, not that much, so don't worry." Namine gave one last lingering touch on the necklace before hurrying over to her bed.

"I wasn't planning to give it to you until after midnight, but since you gave me your present, I guess I'll exchange with you too." It didn't take long for Namine to pull out a picture from her closet. The moment Kairi laid eyes on it, a swell of emotions raised in her chest. "I started painting this picture the moment we came to Twilight Town, but I only finished the week before finals and decided to give it to you around Christmas. It's mostly drawn from my point of view, but I'm sure they're all happy moments for you too." Namine ushered Kairi to take the large and laminated picture. "I hope you like it."

The picture was a compilation of all the major experiences Kairi had ever since she stepped foot in Twilight Town painted in pastel colors. In the top right corner was a picture of Namine and her trying to find the school through the GPS. A few dots led to another event which caused Kairi to laugh out loud. It was a drawing of Kairi flying off her skateboard while Sora and Riku looked alarmed as they watched her. There were a lot of things on it, such as the day they worked on the project with Roxas at the dog cafe, the suffering Kairi had in Sephiroth's class, their outing with Selphie in the cake shop, the night scene of Twilight Town, and Kairi's life as Sora's servant.

The biggest picture was at the bottom, which was an imaginary setting where all the people they've met were at a table with smiles, laughter, and even annoyance as they chatted together. Kairi couldn't help but smile at how everyone seemed to get along, despite the situation they were all in. Namine's view was a happy one.

"Namine, it's beautiful," Kairi sniffed as she looked at all the detail and work Namine put in every stroke. "I love it." Namine giggled.

"I'm glad you like it." Namine laughed more when Kairi crushed her into another hug.

"You're the cutest little sister anyone can ask for."

"I've heard that one a lot." Kairi looked at the picture once more. She couldn't help but notice how Namine depicted her at the bottom picture. She was sitting between Selphie and her, laughing at something with the biggest smiles on her face. When she looked at what she could've been laughing about, she felt her heart swell when she realized what it was: Sora. He sat across from her with that usual stuck-up attitude as he spoke, but it was under a different atmosphere.

It was under a joyful one, and he wasn't the only one under its influence––everyone was. From Riku to Xion and Sora to Roxas, it was a view that Kairi would've liked to see come true.

"You're such an angel, Namine."

"You're sounding like Selphie."

"Hey, I think I'm going to some last minute Christmas shopping." Namine checked the clock hung on the wall and furrowed her eyebrows while Kairi wrapped a scarf around her neck and grabbed the umbrella by the door.

"It's seven p.m."

"It's okay, I'll be back soon. When I get back, we can go out sightseeing? I heard the lights down at Twilight Square are really pretty." Kairi wasn't sure if her eyes were just playing tricks on her, but she swore Namine's smile faltered a little bit.

"Um, sure. Take your time; I'm just going to be reading my book."

~.~.~

Sora waited for Xion near the fountain of Twilight Square, which was right in front of the huge Christmas tree that always stood in the center of Twilight Square for the holiday season each year. The sun had barely set, illuminating the whole town with its famous twilight night. The town was always decorated with lights no matter what time of the year it was, but during the holidays, almost everything adorned wreaths and lights, including the lamp post. In all of Sora's travels, no city could beat Twilight Town's spirit.

"Sora, over here!" Sora looked over to the side towards Xion's voice and gave a small wave as she made her way towards him. She wore a trench coat with a huge red scarf wrapped around her neck; surely, she was ready for some snowstorm. "Did you wait long?"

"Not really. I just got here, so it's okay." He stiffened when Xion looped her arm around his, but did nothing to pull back. She pointed towards the crowded sidewalks and tugged him along.

"Let's go see the lights! I have something to tell you too." Sora was really curious now on what she wanted to talk about, since she kept emphasizing it.

"Sure."

And so, for the next hour, he strode alongside Xion down and around the streets of Twilight Town, admiring the twinkling lights as the sun set even further. He glanced at the sky and curled his lips up in a small smile when he saw the clouds gather. _So it's going to be a white Christmas._ It didn't snow often in Twilight Town, so when he first saw snowfall in December, he wondered what was going on up in the sky.

 _Hm, when was the last time I saw a white Christmas?_

 _-Five years ago-_

 _"Sora!" Sora quickly shoved all of his things away into the drawer as he heard Roxas's rumbling footsteps approach the door to his room. He spun in his chair to face the door right when Roxas opened it. "How much longer are you going to coop yourself in this room?"_

 _"Sorry, I was––"_

 _"Playing games again?" Roxas raised an eyebrow at Sora's laptop, which had an MMORPG still running. Sora chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head._

 _"Oops." Roxas shook his head before jerking a thumb outside the door._

 _"Dude, Xion's waiting outside." Sora's eyes flew out of their sockets before he scrambled to grab the clock at his desk._

 _"Shit, I didn't know it was time already."_

 _"Hurry up and shower, you NEET." Roxas watched in amusement as Sora stood up from his chair and ran to the bathroom, only to slip and trip on some random T-shirt that was lying around on the floor. Sora nearly rammed his head into his closet drawers as his glasses came flying off. He quickly picked them back up, put it back onto his face, and shouted an "I'm okay!" to Roxas as he ran pass him to go to the bathroom. "Clumsy idiot."_

 _After making Roxas and Xion wait for him for a good forty minutes, Sora finally came out looking fresh, clean, and well-dressed. When he came downstairs, he was surprised to see Riku and Axel present as well._

 _"Might as well make our house the meeting place since you are horrible at keeping track of time," Roxas said with a roll of his eyes. "How long does it take for you to shower?"_

 _"Hey, it takes time to look as good as me," Sora joked as he pushed his glasses back up his nose. He needed to get new ones––they were beginning to get loose. "Plus, I have someone to impress now too." Riku and Axel let out a round of obnoxious ooo's and pushed Xion towards him._

 _"Lover boy, show her your thing," Riku shouted with a wolf-whistle._

 _"Damn, he be looking spiffy lately. Hey, who has been improving his fashion game lately?" Axel joined in, causing Sora to be embarrassed while Xion simply giggled. She humored the two of them and raised an eyebrow as she checked out Sora's outfit: a simple white T-shirt with a winter coat._

 _"Sure, I'll give you a passing grade." Sora fist-bumped the air and smiled before turning over to Roxas, who was just watching the whole thing with a small smile._

 _"So, where is our taxi driver taking us? The arcade?"_

 _"Sora, it's freaking Christmas." Sora stuck out his tongue._

 _"Doesn't mean we can't go to one." Roxas swung his keys around his finger as he opened the front door and stepped outside._

 _"I'm not supposed to be driving you guys, since I just got my driver's license and am underage, but––"_

 _"Who's gonna notice? Let's go, let's go, time's a wastin'!" Riku exclaimed as he hooked both arms around Xion and Sora. "We're going to miss the fireworks if we continue daddling around here." Axel ushered Roxas out the door despite his protests while Riku hauled the couple out the door. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"_

 _When they arrived at Twilight Square, they were disappointed; the fireworks had been canceled because of the snow._

 _"Darn, I was excited. I wanted to see fire... Fire!" Axel moaned in anguish as they all sat at the fountain. Roxas laughed and patted the boy to comfort him._

 _"It's okay, I think we're doing something better."_

 _"I agree!" Sora jumped up from his seat and stood in front of everyone. His friends thought he was crazy when he suddenly threw his arms up into the air, but at the very same moment, light snow began to enter the streets. "I would like to thank all of you for being the first people who have accompanied me on Christmas besides my parents and my computer screen!"_

 _"Sora, sit your ass back down because you're attracting looks, you idiot," Riku hissed, tugging at the bubbly brunet's arm. Only Xion's pull could make him sit back down._

 _"You're so silly, Sora. Roxas, is he always like this?" Roxas shuddered, as if severely triggered by her question._

 _"You should've seen him when he created an automatic pet door for our dog. It was the first time I saw him in weeks outside his room, and when he finally emerged, his hair was all over the place––"_

 _"But his hair is already," Axel grimaced as he signaled his hands at his own head, "as if it just came out of the microwave."_

 _"No, man, it was worse._ _ **Worse.**_ _" Everyone stared at Sora's head and tried to imagine a crazier mess, but it deemed impossible. Sora crossed his arms indignantly._

 _"Hey, our dog can easily do his business outside now."_

 _"No dog needs a door to automatically open for it, you dweeb."_

 _"Whatever, you're just jealous, Riku."_

 _"And why would I be jealous of looking like some dead-ass hobo who hasn't seen a shower for years?" Sora pouted as everyone laughed, but at the end, he too soon smiled as they watched the snow lightly fall onto their palms and melt._

 _"But honestly, thanks guys, for bringing me out," Sora nervously fumbled with the hem of his shirt, "Christmas day hasn't really been a fun day for a while... since my parents are, y'know... It's been lonely, but with you guys, it's––" He didn't have time to finish what he was saying before Axel suddenly launched himself at him, encasing Sora into a very tight hug._

 _"Say no more, boy, you're going to make me cry!" Axel wailed as he circled his arms around everyone. "We here for you now, okay, okay?" Riku decided to join the duo while Xion and Roxas laughed at the sight._

 _"We'll be your family for you."_

"Sora, are you okay?" Sora snapped out of his daydream and looked around. He was back at the place where he was waiting for Xion: the fountain.

"Sorry, my mind was somewhere else." Xion let go of his arm and tapped his forehead with a finger.

"Your mind has always been somewhere else," she laughed. "It's so like you, though." Sora rubbed his neck, slightly in embarrassment.

"What is it that you've wanted to talk about?" Sora said not only to change the subject, but to finally hear what she had to say. The whole time, Sora could tell she was holding back on something. "I think it's a good time to hear it now."

"Oh, yes." Sora had an ominous feeling the moment Xion's smile started to become forced, and he knew quite well when it did. "It's just a little favor, nothing big." Sora sucked his lips in.

"What is it?" And then his heart shattered.

"Can you remove all of your involvement with the Keyblade?"

~.~.~

Roxas stood with his hands in his winter coat next to a lamp post in front of some cafe. He exhaled, creating a warm mist of air before it dissipated into the frosty weather. In one of his pockets, he fingered and felt around a gift box––a gift he got for Namine. He stood, waiting at the place they planned to meet up for Christmas Eve. He didn't know how long he stood, but he continued to wait, just in case. He strongly doubted she would show up, but inside, he couldn't diminish the small tiny chance that she would rethink her choice and come. Before he knew it, the sun had set, and the clouds began to release tiny flakes of snow on his head. Looking up, he stared at the sky nostalgically as he took out his hand and opened his palm for snow to fall into.

"It's been a while since a white Christmas greeted Twilight Town."

~.~.~

Namine took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose; she had finally finished her book. Glancing at the digital clock, she sighed when she saw what time it was: 8:30 p.m.

"Kairi, what are you doing out this late?" She gently closed her book and rested her head against her hand, feeling sleepy already despite how early it was. Looking out the window, she was surprised to see light snow tumbling down from the sky and was glad Kairi took the umbrella. "The lights sure look pretty from up here." Namine hesitantly opened one of the drawers of the desk and clasped her fingers around the thin piece of paper. She put it under the light and let out a small smile.

It was a picture she drew of Roxas using colored pencils. He sat with an arm on his desk and a hand under his chin as he looked out the window at where he sat during physics, admiring the sunlight that streamed through the classroom. She had seen this scene when she came back to retrieve her forgotten pencil and knew it was a good image to draw out. She had planned to give it to him as a Christmas present, but...

She sighed again.

"Maybe another time..."

~.~.~

"Axel, how many times have I told you not to dye your hair?" his mother scolded him as she messed with his hair. Axel groaned as he felt his mother try to comb it down, but failed. "Your uncles and aunts along with their children are coming soon and they're going to freak once they see this hair of yours!"

"I look fabulous, Mom, stop denying the truth." That earned him a whack on the head.

"Whatever, just change your clothes! Why are you wearing all black on such a nice day today?"

"It's my style," Axel grumbled as he looked down at his outfit. "Geez." He watched his mother exit out of the house and to the backyard to retrieve the cookies from the oven outside. That was when he saw what was outside.

"Holy shit, it's snowing."

~.~.~

Riku sat alone at a bar as he took tiny sips of his drink. He had taken a seat right in front of the window so that he could watch the bustling people pass by the shop in jolly spirits while he drank the night out.

"On the one day I'm alone, it just had to be on Christmas Eve," he chuckled ironically to himself before taking another shot. "Damn, Riku Solari, why does it have to be like this every year?" He never failed to be alone on Christmas Eve, and it wasn't because he wanted to––people just had other things to do, whether it be with friends or family. "Must be nice to have a place you belong to."

Looking at the window once more after another sip, he was surprised to see snow cascading down from the sky, lightly settling itself on any surface it could find. He smiled.

"Well, there was one place where I felt like home."

~.~.~

Vanitas stared at the phone number that he had typed out, but was too hesitant to call.

"Dude, you've been staring at your phone for the longest time ever," his friend, Ventus called out. "The front of the hotel has a nice view and all, but it's _freezing._ Aqua and Terra are waiting for us at Twilight Square."

"This is my only time to reach her," he muttered to himself, completely disregarding Ventus's complaints. "Once I get back to Destiny Islands, I'll never have this chance again." He chuckled to himself as he crushed the flakes of snow in his palm. "I wonder what you've been up to, Kairi."

~.~.~

Sora sat at the edge of the fountain, alone as he held his hands together over his legs. He stayed there, immobile, as he stared emotionlessly at the area of cement within his sight while snow continued to collect atop his head. However, he made no efforts of brushing it off. It was cold, but he felt nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

 _"W-w-what?" Sora stuttered, not sure if he heard right. Xion smiled even bigger._

 _"I know the whole concept of the Keyblade was first developed by you, and you should be proud of it. I know your father would be proud to see what it has become to today."_ _ **No, he wouldn't.**_ _"And I think it's amazing that you were the one who made all of this possible, but..."_

 _"What?" He could barely say anything at this moment with the large lump beginning to form in his throat._

 _"I hope you will continue to remain uninvolved, just like you've been doing all these years. I know you haven't been involved with any of it ever since your uncle launched Keywielders, but I'm just saying it just in case."_

 _"What do you mean 'just in case'?" he voiced out, and he wasn't ashamed when his voice suddenly cracked. "I don't understand why you're telling me all of this." Xion rubbed his arm comfortingly, and he would usually feel the comfort too, but now her touch was just burning._

 _"It's an important time for Roxas." Sora's mouth opened slightly in shock as his eyes searched her face, searched for some sort of joke or lie or_ _ **anything**_ _that could make her words false, but it was in vain. He slowly felt every single piece of emotion he had left in him get replaced with emptiness as he continued to listen to Xion. "As you have already probably figured out, your uncle plans to step down and give Roxas the company for reasons unknown. Roxas told me all about it, but the problem is that he doesn't want the position._

 _"He wants you to have it. Believe me when I say this, Sora; there's no problem with you taking over, but Roxas has worked so much harder and he contributed so much to the company and the development of the Keyblade already––he deserves the position, whether he thinks so or not. It would be great if you allow Roxas this opportunity. If it suddenly becomes known that you and your dad are the original creators, then Roxas won't be able to––"_

 _"So all of this is just for Roxas. So you're basically telling me to forget I had anything to do with my dad's dream just so that Roxas's position as the future CEO of Keywielders will be secured?" Sora growled menacingly as he ripped his arm away from Xion's touch. "You pulled me out here just to give me this warning, didn't you?" And in an instant, feelings of fury overflowed within him._

 _"It's not a warning, I'm just saying just in––"_

 _"Just in case? Just in case of what? Just in case I suddenly want to claim my rights and demolish Roxas's future? Just in case I accidentally spill to someone? Just in case I decide to interfere with my uncle's plan? Because he 'worked so much harder.' Harder than what? Harder than me? It has always been about Roxas with you, hasn't it? Since the beginning ever since I met you." He didn't know how he was summoning all this rage and anger and frustration, but he was._

 _It was probably because he had kept silent for too long._

 _"Sora, you're not acting like your usual self. That's not what I meant––"_

 _"And tell me, Xion, when were you ever involved in our affairs like this?"_

 _"I'm just looking out for both you and Roxas."_

 _"It's just fucking Roxas, you don't have to lie," Sora released a shaky breath as he slowly stepped away from Xion––his eyesight was starting to get blurry. "You know, Xion, how much longer are you going to continue taking advantage of me?" Xion looked at him in surprise._

 _"Taking advantage of you? Sora, you know I would never do that."_

 _"I'm weak, but I'm not dumb. 'Wow, this guy seems to listen to me a lot, maybe he'll obey me when I tell him to stay out of it?' was what you thought, wasn't it?"_

 _"Sora––"_

 _"Honestly, I let you do whatever you wanted because I didn't really care what you wanted me to do, but this time, you really crossed the line. I know about your stupid Roxas obsession, but the moment you diss my father's dream like it's some insignificant thing, then––"_

 _"Sora, what are you saying? I never did that!"_

 _"You know," Sora took inhaled deeply, not at all listening to her, "I thought you understood me. I thought you were there for me, and I thought you saw me as 'Sora Hikari'. When I told you about my dad and his dream, I trusted you. I trusted you because you seemed to believe in me and in whatever I did. However, you're just like everyone else," Sora furiously wiped the tears away from his eyes, "Now I know for sure that you could care less about me. Who cares about some kid fulfilling his dead dad's dream? This is your thinking, isn't it?" Sora knew he hit the mark when Xion's lips formed tight lines._

 _"You know what you should do, Xion? I'm not going to be stupid this time and do whatever you tell me to do. It's not me who should stay out of it––it's you. What I plan to do and not do with the Keyblade is none of your business, so don't even try to persuade me again." Sora didn't allow Xion time to refute back with whatever excuse she could come up with to respond to his outburst and spun on his heels, quickly walking away and never turning back._

Sora didn't know when he had broken out of her spell, but he did, and he didn't regret it. He didn't expect himself to lose his cool like that. It had been a while–– _years_ ––since he lost his cool over the Keyblade, and it had been for the same reason why he blew at Xion.

Because she told him to stay out if it, just like his uncle did five years ago.

It didn't matter if it was a valued dream of his late father––all that mattered were the benefits they were going to gain from it.

Life sure was cruel.

However, all of it just made him come to a realization: what was there for him anymore? The person he thought understood him never understood him in the first place. Most of his life was a shadow underneath someone else's. The life he wanted was taken right before his eyes. His father's dream was stolen right beneath his nose along with his sense of self.

What more could be taken away from him?

And as his emotions swirled into a spiral of madness, he sat there, thinking about nothing but, ironically, how the snow fell in the area in front for him. _If only..._

His trance was broken when snow suddenly stopped falling on him and instead of the cement ground in his view, a pair of boots came into sight.

"Sora?" He slowly looked up and stared, with his blank eyes, at who had approached and disturbed him.

He didn't know why, but the moment his eyes recognized the person as Kairi, he felt a different emotion begin to rise within him. She stood right in front of him, close enough so that the umbrella she was holding sheltered both of them from the snow. Her winter coat hugged her body snuggly while the red scarf wrapped around her neck gave an enormous amount of warmth. He didn't know if he was hallucinating, but her body seemed to out-glow the Christmas tree that stood tall behind her. He gazed at her purple-tinted blue eyes and suddenly felt a sense of security wash over him as she looked at him with worry and concern.

"Sora, how long have you stood out here in the snow?" she exclaimed as she stared at the amount of snow in his hair. He didn't answer her as he continued to look at her. She hesitantly reached her free hand out towards his hair and gently brushed the snow off. "You're going to catch a cold if you continue to sit here longer."

"Where did you come from?" he asked softly, reveling in the nice feeling of her hands touching his hair. Sensing something wrong from the way he sounded, she offered a small smile.

"I came back from buying a gift," she pulled her hand away and fished something out of her pockets. "A gift for you." He shakily held up a hand to accept what she was insisting him to take and brought it closer to him to see.

A paopu fruit charm.

"I didn't know what to get, but when I saw this, it reminded me of you. I will never forget the way you epically killed the dean's paopu fruit with a soccer ball," she explained. "It's thanks for the bracelet." She wiggled her hand to emphasize her point. "I know it doesn't cost as much as your gift, but––"

"Aren't you mad at me?"

"Huh?"

"For the other day." Kairi pursed her lips as she remembered what he was talking about before shrugging.

"I mean, I was, but..." she laughed, "After Namine gave me this one certain Christmas present, I just felt compelled to get you a gift. Although," she looked around, "I didn't expect to bump into you here on the way back. It's pretty, isn't it? The Christmas tree they set up here is huge, like whoa. When I saw it, I..." Sora zoned her out; all he focused on now was her presence and how pretty she was in front of the bright Christmas tree. He watched as her lips moved animatedly as she told him about her little solo adventure through Twilight Square and how fascinated she was with all the decorations. "Back in Destiny Islands, there wasn't much––Sora?"

Suddenly, with both of his arms, Sora slowly circled them around Kairi's figure and pulled her into him for a hug as she stood between his legs. Her umbrella rolled onto the ground when she dropped it out of shock. Kairi stood still, frozen as Sora placed his head ionto her stomach, holding her tightly.

"Who am I, Kairi?" She knew something was wrong with him when she saw him from afar with his head down low as he stared at the ground with an empty look in his eyes, but she didn't realize how _broken_ he sounded until now.

"What do you mean?" She hesitantly placed her hands on his shoulders and rubbed them with her thumbs soothingly.

"I don't know, just answer the question." He didn't know himself what kind of answer he was looking for, but he just wanted her to _answer._ "Just answer it."

"It's a very vague question, but... you're the guy who manages to piss me off day in and day out," she replied softly.

"Is that it?" Pause.

"Not really. Of course that's not it."

"Then what else?"

"There are many other things I can say. I can say how you're such a jerk, but deep down, you actually aren't. Or I can say how rude you are whenever I ask you a question, but it's just you shielding yourself in a way. There are many things I can say, but I won't right now."

"Why not?"

"Because to explain your entire existence in just a few words in such a short time is literally impossible, but if you were to force me to, then..." Kairi let out a hum as she thought about it before she reached her answer. "You're just Sora Hikari, aren't you? That's who you are."

Kairi didn't know if what she was saying was the right answer, and she probably won't ever know if it was the right answer because he failed to respond after that. She didn't know how long they stood there together like that, but it was her that broke the ice once again. With all the courage she had left within her, she asked the same question she had asked him many times before.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"...Yes."

* * *

*Dead* Here you go guys, to make up for being inactive for so long, i pumped out another chapter. Excuse the typos because i usually write at the night (BECAUSE IT'S SADLY THE ONLY TIME I'M FREEEEE) and I'm half dead most of the time so...I proofread slightly to catch major mistakes but ToT... Now I must go to sleep. Thank you so much to those who have continued to read this and big thanks to the people who have reviewed. Without readers, I wouldn't have managed to write this chapter with ease. Tell me what you guys think about this chapter too by leaving a review because I love reviews because reviews = inspiration and motivation as well as reader count so yes!

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.


	15. Chapter 15

Sora lifted up the packet of hot chocolate powder to his eyes and squinted at the small expiration date that was scripted in the bottom. _Two weeks expired._ He sucked his lips in as he faced a very difficult situation.

 _She won't know, would she? I mean, it's just cocoa powder._ He ripped the top of the packet and nearly went through with the decision if not for Kairi's sudden appearance behind him.

"What's taking you so long over here?" He started at her voice, clumsily tossed the packet into the trash, and whipped around to face her.

"Hi," he said awkwardly out of instinct as he placed both hands on the counter behind him. Kairi raised a brow. "I thought I told you to wait in the living room."

"It got boring." Kairi peeked at what he was doing and let out an _ooo_ in delight. "Hot chocolate? I really like the French vanilla ones." She picked up the box of cocoa powder and took a packet out to examine what kind it was. Sora shook his head and took it away from her grasp.

"Um, it's expired." He didn't expect her to give him a look as if he just came from a different universe nor did he expect her to bump him to the side and take the box back.

"Expired? By only two weeks, you wimp. It's just cocoa powder! And oh my gosh, are you using water for this?" Sora felt his eye twitch as he watched her dump the two mugs he filled with water down the sink. "You have to use milk." He held up both his hands in surrender as he backed away.

"Alright, the kitchen's all yours, chef." At his word, Kairi began to rummage through his fridge for the milk as if it was her own. Sora grabbed a seat by the table and watched in amusement at how Kairi miraculously knew where everything was. In less than five minutes, the two found themselves sitting on his sofa each with a mug of hot chocolate in their hands. Kairi fidgeted in her seat, not having gotten quite comfortable in his very large "apartment" yet.

Although, she doubted she would ever get comfortable in it. It looked very nice and all, with the tall ceiling and top-quality furniture lining nearly every corner and wall of the place, but... it was just too lonely. The mantels had nothing on them, the walls had no pictures, and even the furniture itself looked too new and uninhabited. She found nothing that held signs that Sora Hikari lived here––rather, it was as if no one even lived in this perfect place at all.

It also didn't help that she once got dead drunk at this place either.

"Do you not celebrate Christmas?" she asked, looking around at the very white walls. There were no signs of any holiday decorations at all. Sora shrugged and put his mug down on the table. He himself scanned the place he had been living in for almost three years and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"I'm lazy," he confessed. "This place is just a place for me to, uh, sleep at, so."

"How about food? Do you cook?" He winced before bringing up his thumb and index finger.

"Only a little bit. Actually, not really––that's why money exists." Kairi's mouth hung open at every sad answer he gave her, causing him to feel more and more out of the ordinary.

"I thought you were a swimmer. Don't you have to be, like," Kairi flexed her arm back and forth to emphasize her point, "healthy?" Sora pursed his lips; Kairi had a talent at asking questions that made him feel like he was an odd one out.

"It's not like I eat out all the time. Our team manager helps maintain my diet, so. Ah, that's right, speaking of swimming, championships are approaching." Kairi mouthed an understanding "ah" as she nodded, causing the two to slip into another awkward silence.

Heck, the moment Kairi stepped into his apartment, the awkwardness never went away.

"... Do you have any visitors that come by here?"

"Sure, we can say that."

"Who?"

"You." Sora leaned over and placed his arms over his knees as he looked at everything but Kairi. "No one really knows where I live except my... _family,_ " he seemed reluctant to use that word, but it was the best word he could use. "I let you see where it was, but I never intended for you to go inside. You just came inside by accident last time since you became super crazy and when I was super crazy too at––"

"You don't need to explain it in full detail."

"Right. Now you're just here because, well, my place is close to Twilight Square and it's snowing, and you've been here before, so I just––yeah."

"Mhm."

"Yeah." Kairi took a sip of her hot chocolate, which was still hot enough to burn her tongue, while Sora pushed his glasses up with his index finger (Kairi never knew he wore glasses, but he explained how he liked to wear them at home). _Why is this so awkward?_ Kairi thought as she continued to sip her drink. She had suggested taking actual shelter from the snow before any talking occurred, and Sora mentioned that his place was just a five-minute drive from Twilight Square––it worked out. However, she would've just gladly stayed in his car if it was going to be like _this_ in his apartment. She was just asking useless questions instead of the real one which just seemed to make him more and more uncomfortable.

And it's _Christmas Eve_ too.

"Is there... a reason why it's like this?" She was referring to the lack of people in this ginormous building. Without her realizing it, she finally questioned the topic he was hesitant to open up about.

"Yeah, there is, and it's not because I'm an antisocial freak." He stood up and signaled for her to too. She followed him as he circled the apartment and went upstairs, where more plainness greeted her. The only things at the upper level were more white doors and white walls. Sora approached a very specific one and sighed. "Since you already know everything kind of, I don't give a fuck anymore, so." With the twist of the handle and a creak of the door, Kairi beheld the sight of...

Nothing.

"What?" Kairi was amazed, but she was amazed for a different reason. The completely white room was _huge_. She swore it was bigger than her kitchen, living room, _and_ backyard combined back at home. The only thing in the room was a lone chair that sat near the left side of the room. "Why is it so empty?"

"I love sea salt ice cream," he said all of a sudden. Kairi thought for a second that he had completely lost his mind, but the moment he finished his sentence, a sort of rumbling occurred. She literally took a step back in surprise when a few places on the walls near the door flipped like those magical bookcases she always saw in movies to reveal a huge table filled with monitors and computers, another table with a lot of metal pieces and tools, and a glass display case while the whole room suddenly digitalized into a jungle. Kairi shrieked when a very realistic, yet 2D, looking snake started to slither its way across the digital floor.

"What the hell!" She instinctively grabbed onto Sora's arm and hid behind his side while Sora grimaced.

"Yikes. It gets me too––why on earth did I program this... Deactivate jungle landscape. Activate," Sora paused to think of what he wanted, "Christmas Town." The walls and floor shimmered a little bit as the jungle scenery faded away to be replaced by a winter wonderland. It even had a ginger house and Christmas tree hologram near the corners on the other side of the vast room as it "snowed." "I guess you can count these as decorations."

"Whoa." Kairi admired the whole place while Sora approached one of the tables that had scattered metal pieces and tools all over. "What is this place?"

"A work in progress," he muttered as he fumbled around with them before heading over to the glass case filled with what Kairi assumed to be Keyblades. However, they looked a bit different than the ones she usually saw out in the world. She took another glance around the room, and a light bulb lit up her head.

"Is this a Keyblade arena?"

"Please don't call it that hideous term," Sora scoffed, grabbing the rolling chair and sitting on it. He faced Kairi, "Everything I do here is unrelated to whatever you see out there, although it's sadly quite similar."

"How did," Kairi signaled with her hands, hoping he would get the gist of what she was asking. Being vague, she was slightly surprised when he understood her.

"'Cause my work got stolen," Sora simply stated as if it was an everyday thing that happened. Kairi's jaw dropped open.

" _What?_ " Sora laughed bitterly as he rolled his chair over to the long table with an abnormal amount of monitors and computers and wires. They were all running programs Kairi did not recognize. He typed furiously in one of them and rolled his chair back over to the glass case to take out one of the Keyblades.

"Exactly what I said," he answered as he configured with one of them before sliding back to the computers to type more stuff. "Every time I think about it, I want to explode in a rage, but since you're here, it's not that bad right now." Kairi didn't know what he meant by that, but she didn't think too much on it. Sora put on an eye visor and tossed Kairi one. She put it on as well and turned it on. "The Keyblading you see in the world right now is a sport, but the Keyblading that my father and I imagined," he pressed enter and then twirled the Keyblade in his hand upright, "is a game."

Suddenly, a loud announcement was heard.

"Level one." Out of nowhere, a holographic Shadow appeared in the center of the room, its yellow eyes continuously scanning its surroundings. Sora clicked a button on the Keyblade––were there ever buttons on one?––and suddenly began shooting blue, magical, homing bullets out at it. In less than a second, the Heartless dissolved into nothingness, and bells rang to signal the completion of level one. Kairi looked between Sora and the spot where he just killed the Shadow and blinked rapidly.

"What the heck was that? I have never seen that before."

"Of course you wouldn't, since this is the stuff that wasn't stolen." He pressed button on the keyboard. In a wave, the whole Christmas Town went away to return back to the white walls she walked into. He stood up and pressed a button on the side, which made all the tables turn back again. Before she knew it, she was standing in the plain room again. "Since it's I barely have access to the materials, it isn't as furnished and touched up as what you see out there, but––"

"Oh my gosh, are you some sort of secret genius?" Kairi exclaimed all of a sudden, grabbing Sora by the shoulders when he stood up. She shook him like a madman with eyes wide opened in excitement while he held her arms to try to stop her from shaking his brains out. "Holy crap, who am I meeting here? How smart are you? Are you a hidden gem? Do you have like a special brain or something? I can't believe I know someone this big, like wow––"

"Calm down," he groaned as he tried to lead her out of the room. However, she didn't comply as she stayed rooted to the ground and continued to stare at the large white room.

"What did you say when you came in? Was it some sort of password? Oh my moogles, that's so cool! What was it––"

"Don't!"

"I love sea salt ice cream!" Sora was too late when he clamped a hand over Kairi's mouth. The rumbling she experienced earlier came back, and before she knew it, she was back in the winter wonderland. Sora let out a loud, drawing groan as he sauntered back over to the keyboard and pressed a button to make it all go away again. "Dude, I feel so powerful right now." Sora put a finger to his temples.

"Just get out already."

Kairi had to have Sora push her back downstairs by the shoulder or else she wouldn't stop turning around to question him about his "wondrous brain." When he finally got the both of them settled down back on the sofa, he prepared his himself for Kairi's onslaught of questions.

"My knowledge is all jumbled about you now," she said as she clutched her head in a hilarious manner. "Who are you, Sora?"

"Just some college student trying to get a degree in computer engineering," he simply said as he continued to drink from his mug. It was lukewarm now. "With a few hobbies on the sideline."

"If you call being a super secret genius a hobby, then my whole life has been insignificant and a pile of nothingness," Kairi exasperated. "Why do you keep it a secret? Why doesn't anyone know about _this?_ " She opened up her arms into the air to signal towards the whole place. Sora felt his hair and tried to flatten it, only for it to bounce back up. Secretly, she always found that action cute, but she wasn't going to be super weird and ask him to do it often. However, if there were no limits in the universe... she totally would.

 _Stop having weird thoughts._

"There's no point in showing it off, is there?" he grumbled. "Not after Keywielders got established by my uncle."

"Did you guys work on it together, or––"

"Hell no, we didn't work together," Sora curtly cut her off. "I told you already and I really didn't want to repeat it, but I guess I'll say it again: my work got stolen." Kairi felt bad for making him say it again, for he made a pained expression once he repeated it. "It all happened within a span of a few months without me knowing like the dumb moron I was."

"What do you mean?" Afraid that he was suddenly going to shut her out again, she quickly added, "Of course, if you don't want to talk about it then––"

"Roxas." Sora's mention of him caught Kairi off guard. "Wow, I can't believe I'm telling this to someone," he chuckled ironically as he settled his mug back on the table, "Maybe because I'm tired of holding it in without raging at someone, something I've been doing a little bit too much recently."

"That's normal. At least your outbursts aren't as bad as mine," Kairi said to make the mood feel better. It worked as Sora gave a tiny smile.

"That's right; it isn't."

"Thanks a lot for not denying it out of politeness, but go on." With the jokes aside, Sora began to unveil the events of everything that had happened for him to live in secrecy like this.

"My dad was a game programmer," Kairi couldn't help but notice how he used past tense, "and he was a good one too, from what I heard. His superiors always complimented him for his innovative ideas, and I could tell all his plans were different from the games I played when I was younger. You could say I was his number one fan," Kairi felt her heart skip a beat when Sora smiled fondly as he talked about his dad. _I never knew he could smile like that._ "He always brought back his plans back at home, where he would discuss it in baby terms for me. That's how I got into programming at such a young age.

"When I was in fourth or fifth grade, my dad brought up what I thought was the most awesome idea of all time for a game. You probably already know what it is by now––killing stuff with a cool-looking weapon. Though that's a super overused idea, the platform he wanted to create it on was the awesome part: virtual reality. He was really passionate about his work, and he came home every day satisfied with it, but this new project of his brought it to a whole different level. He had other projects to work on in the company, so he didn't have too much time, but every free time he had, he spent it on developing the Keyblade and the ideas on the system and platform. I never really saw him out of his room, now that I think back about it."

"I heard you were a super geeky kid in high school," Kairi mused. "Were you following your dad's footsteps?" Sora opened his mouth to refute back at the geeky comment, but he couldn't and simply reddened a bit. Kairi blinked. _Why on Earth is he so freaking cute right now?_

"I was not that geeky," he muttered as he tried to flatten his hair again. "But yeah, my dad was pretty set on making his dream come true."

"Dream?"

"To make his own video game for people of all ages to enjoy," he proudly stated, but reverted back to his normal voice when he realized how childish he sounded. "He just wanted to create something of his own for, I guess, the world to enjoy. I thought that was pretty cool."

"Um," Kairi interrupted, unable to hold her curiosity any longer. She was starting to get an ominous feeling with his use of the past tense. "When you say 'was', what does that mean?" Sora scratched his cheek with a finger and uncomfortably shifted in his seat.

"Eight years ago, we got into a car crash." Kairi widened her eyes, instantly feeling guilt for bringing it up. However, Sora stopped her with a shake of his head. "It's not a big deal––I mean, it is a big deal, but it's been very long, so you don't have to feel sorry for anything. I was about to lead up to that anyways."

"I see."

"It was just your typical average car crash. We were just coming home from dinner, with me, my mom, and my dad. I don't remember much what we were doing beforehand––probably just me sitting in the back while my parents conversed with their usual adult stuff. I usually tune them out. I think I was just looking at the side window, watching all the buildings pass by the freeway, when I heard a huge boom. Before I knew it, I found myself upside down and suddenly crushed. A drunk driver just hit our car and... yeah. I don't want to explain much but at the end, only I survived. From then on, I––please don't tell me you're crying."

"I'm not!" Sora raised an eyebrow as Kairi blinked rapidly. "Okay, maybe I am, but it's Christmas Eve. You can't just drop this on me on Christmas Eve. Foul play." She sniffed as Sora leaned over to the other side of the table to grab the box of tissues that was conveniently sitting there and tossed it at her.

"Do you want ice cream later?"

"Oh my gosh, not this again. And it's winter, _please._ " Sora rolled his eyes as he finished the last few sips of his hot chocolate.

"But anyway, I finished the most tragic part, so don't worry. I moved in with my current, uh, guardians right now––my uncle and his wife––and their son, Roxas. It wasn't like I never saw them before, but we rarely met up since at the time I lived in Traverse Town while they lived here in Twilight Town. I obviously wasn't comfortable at all with the new living situation. My uncle had a super duper high position in some sort of tech company I never bothered to remember the name of and his wife is just a plain bitch."

"Yikes."

"Yeah. As for Roxas, he was the only one I sort of got along with, despite him being 'better than me at everything.' It got annoying, but I tried not to dislike him just 'cause of that. It worked, and I thought we were going to get along like brothers. I met Riku and Axel here along the way too in Twilight Town, so all of us somehow got along despite how different everyone was.

"After I settled here in Twilight Town, I continued to work on my dad's work-in-progress. He had all his plans and views on his paper, so at least I had a starting ground. There were a few codes he had written up, but there wasn't much progress on the actual thing, so I started working on everything slowly starting around sixth grade? Long story short, I got the hang of the most fundamental basis of how the game was going to work around sophomore year in high school. As you could guess, I was extremely satisfied and happy. After my parents' sudden death, I felt extremely alone, but by working on my dad's dream, I felt like they were still with me in a way. I had a goal to just keep going you know, and I got to meet awesome people along the way as I started this new point in my life. I was happy in a way, until things just went downhill super quick."

"What happened?" Kairi finally spoke up. Even though everything he was saying was starting to get better and better, she couldn't help but feel worse and worse. It was as if she was expecting more and more bad news.

"Roxas struck me as odd when I first moved in. He was everything you could ask for in a person: smart, good-looking, nice, friendly, etc. He was like a perfect person and a perfect son especially; everyone absolutely adored him. However, despite all this, I just felt _strange_ around him. It was as if he was just, I don't know how to explain it, _not there._ Like, of course, he was there physically, don't give me that look," Kairi smiled sheepishly, "but I just felt like his mind wasn't there most of the time. However, I cast it aside since he was nice to me too, so I found no reason to hate him.

"I wish I kind of listened to my gut instincts instead of letting my guard down around him. If I did, then he wouldn't have stolen my work bit by bit so easily."

"Roxas did _what?_ " Kairi had her eyes wide, not believing what Sora was saying so easily. Roxas was so nice, and he was literally almost an angel. No matter how much she tried to connect Sora's description to him, she could not imagine Roxas as that type of person at all.

"I knew he was too perfect; there had to be a crack somewhere, and I finally saw what it was. He was one who wanted to live up to everyone's expectation as the perfect kid. Wanting his father to be proud of him was no exception. Sometimes I heard the fights he had with his father, and it was usually about his dad not being satisfied with him. I knew it was bad, but I didn't know it was bad enough to push him to secretly take info from my room bit by bit over a span of months without me knowing. He knew how to program really well, so stealing it and understanding it was a piece of cake for him. I didn't realize what he had done until my uncle suddenly announced to the world about the company he was establishing and what it'll be featuring. Again, long story short, I watched my father's game become a sport––and a violent one too."

"And how come you're still here? How come you didn't do anything? Why are you just sitting here doing all this in secret now?" Kairi fumed, suddenly heated. If Sora won't get mad, she will. However, she assumed wrong.

"What was I supposed to do?" Sora raised his voice to the same level as hers. "I got threatened so many times, you don't even know. I was just a kid too. Even if I were going to say something, do they think they'll believe anything I say? That some kid managed to think all this up? I had no power at the time, and I probably never will."

"Sora, that's not true. You know better now. How about you––"

"I don't want any involvement with such a thing either, something so far from my dad's goal. I'm content with just building what I had planned to build on my own at this place." Kairi bit her bottom lip, not knowing what to say anymore. Sora rubbed his forehead as he muttered an apology for his sudden outburst.

"Is that why you were upset at Twilight Square?" Sora seemed taken aback by her question, realized something, and opened his mouth to explain. However, before he could say a word, his doorbell suddenly rang, breaking the rising tension between the two of them. They stared at each other in surprise before looking at the door.

"Are you sure you don't have any other visitors?" Kairi asked cautiously. Sora stood up to go answer it while Kairi followed close behind.

"Happy holidays!" Sora took a step back as a sudden crowd of people in elf costumes and Santa hats with instruments greeted him while Kairi's eyes lit up. It was one of those groups who knocked on people's doors to sing. "We are from––"

 _Crash!_

Kairi winced when one guy suddenly dropped his tambourine on the ground.

"Holy gazoly, is that you, Sora?" Sora widened his eyes and blinked rapidly at the person who just called him out. Kairi frowned as she studied the guy who Sora seemed to know as well based on his shocked look. Khaki and gelled hair...

"Hayner?" The other people beside him had their instruments up and ready to play, but merely questioned him with their stares as Sora and Hayner had their mouths open to each other. Hayner's gaze then shifted back and forth between Sora and Kairi in a crazed manner, but before he could do anything else, Sora quickly grabbed his door knob and slammed the door shut with a bang, leaning his back against it for good measure.

"I'm screwed." Sora shook his head as he looked at his feet. Then he started to pace in front of the door as he started to mutter things Kairi could not comprehend. She was about to pull his shirt to make him stop pacing like a psychopath, but she didn't need to. He suddenly froze and stood rigid in front of the front door again with a hand covering his mouth.

"Sora, you look like the world is about to freaking end," Kairi spoke slowly, a bit concerned for the spiky-haired guy now. "How about you just go back to the living room and sit do––"

"It's fucking over."

~ _One Hour Later~_

"Sora, open this door! I know you're in there! Hayner told me he saw you with both his eyes during his volunteering. He's crazy, but he cannot hallucinate such a thing! The moment he told me he knew where you lived, my drunk ass became sober as fuck in less than a second!" Sora covered his face with both of his hands in despair as Kairi and him sat on the sofa once more. Kairi cleared her throat.

"I think that's Riku outside."

"Ignore it; it's just a lousy cat."

"Sora, that's not a cat."

"If I say it's a cat, then it's a cat. Just fucking humor me right now."

"Sora, open this door right now!"

"I think that's Hayner outside, too."

"That's just another cat." Kairi sighed and stood up––she had enough. She took a few steps, but Sora grabbed her arm to stop her when she passed by his seat.

"And where do you think you're going?" Kairi raised an eyebrow as she shrugged his hand off.

"Something you won't do since you're such a wimp: opening the door, duh." Sora climbed over the sofa's arm rest to try to stop her again, but became a mess on the ground when he reached out to grab nothing but air and fell over the sofa.

"Kairi, don't you dare open that door!"

"I don't want to be an accomplice in the murder of two young men just because they froze to death." Sora clambered back to his feet, slipped on the floor once more in the process because of his socks, and literally sprinted to stop the redhead from unlocking the door. Right when he was right by her side, the deed had been done.

She had opened the door.

In less than a minute, two figures tumbled through the door, cold and shaking from the snow. Sora groaned loudly as he rubbed his face once more with both his hands in disbelief and horror. Riku and Hayner shuddered as warmth finally found their skin while Kairi shut the door and locked it.

"Success, Riku, success! I need to text Axel this monumental moment!" Hayner literally screamed as he took out his phone and began to twirl and spin in order to take selfies of the whole place. Riku scanned the area in shock at how big it was and then brought his gaze back to Sora, who was now banging the side of his head against the wall.

"Why did you guys have to come?" he muttered darkly, "Why couldn't you guys just leave me alone? Why couldn't you let my house be pure and happy?"

"You make it sound like we're contaminating your home or something," Riku complained.

"You are." Riku mocked hurt as he stabbed an imaginary knife to his chest before joining Hayner in their admiration of the place. Sora felt his eye twitched for the nth time today as he watched them feel his furniture. Kairi pinched his arm, causing him to startle.

"Why are you being so rude and mean?" Kairi whispered as they remained huddled near the front door, trying to make their conversation private. "I highly doubt they're going to find out about your deep, dark secrets with that weird password of yours, so I feel like you should populate your home more. Aren't you tired of this place being like some lonesome sanctuary? Show some hospitality, you dweeb. It's Christmas Eve too."

"That's not it," he hissed back. "Now that they know where I live, they're gonna blow my place up, bring their butts over for 'sleepovers', and crash my place twenty-four seven! I believe you have two healthy eyes––have you seen my friends?" Kairi snorted in laughter. "It'll be like me babysitting three idiots. Plus, I don't let anyone in here for a reason because I'm working with you-know-freaking-what upstairs. Now I can't work on it freely anymore. With this situation, does it look like I'm going to be happy and say 'welcome, welcome, stay here forever!'?"

"Now you're just stretching it a little bit, but––"

"What are you two being all secretive about over there?" Kairi and Sora jumped away from each other and turned to face the now-calm Riku and Hayner. Riku had an eyebrow raised while Hayner's eyes continued to dart back and forth between Sora. It didn't take her more than a nanosecond to realize that the two were probably having a huge, _huge_ misunderstanding. "Are we interrupting something...?"

"No," the both of them said simultaneously as quickly as lightning. Sora rubbed his neck uncomfortably while Kairi held her hands behind her back. Kairi didn't know if it was just her, but it was getting pretty hot.

"Kairi, why are you here?" Hayner nodded furiously.

"And how come you never told us you lived in such a rad place?" Sora ignored the both of them as he stuffed a hand into his pocket and jerked a thumb at the front door with the other.

"Do you need to go back? Didn't you say you had plans with your sister?" Kairi answered him without seeing him desperately mouth the words "please get the fuck out of here."

"Oh, no, I texted her, but she probably fell asleep after... reading... her book..." Kairi's sentence died in her mouth when Sora suddenly started rubbing his face with both his hands again in pure agony. As if to make him drown in more despair, Hayner suddenly whipped out a confetti popper and pulled the string, coating the whole floor with litter in an instant. Sora stared lifelessly at the sudden appearance of trash on his floors now. Kairi covered her mouth so that her laughter couldn't be seen.

"I bought this on the way here in order to celebrate the finding of Sora's place after almost three hard, long years of searching! It's Christmas Eve, let's start the party! Kairi, you can join us too if you're not too busy!"

So, in less than an hour, Sora found himself sitting with three other people on the sofa in the place that had absolutely no visitors just a few hours ago in front of the TV with a huge bowl of popcorn on the table with all the lights turned off.

"Since these plans are super last minute, we can all settle with some movie binging, am I right?" Hayner declared as he sat on the edge next to Riku, who was configuring the TV with the very unused remote. Sora merely had a finger on his temple while Kairi stifled a yawn.

"Whatever." They didn't know how much Sora just wanted their butts out of his apartment.

~ _Thirty minutes later~_

"I thought we were going to watch cute Christmas movies, not a horror movie!" Hayner squeaked as he hid underneath his hood. Riku winced as the head of the zombie suddenly got chopped off, spewing blood everywhere. Even Sora was a bit uncomfortable as his eyes absorbed all the gore. He glanced at Kairi for _whatever reason_ and was freaked out to see her just watching the thing with no problem as she continued to pop popcorn into her mouth.

"Is it not scary to you?" Kairi turned her head when he called her and shook her head.

"I'm good with horror movies, so not at all. Why?" Sora slowly nodded his head in understanding before looking back at the TV.

"Nothing."

As the movie continued to run, Sora felt himself ease back into the sofa more and more as he grew more comfortable in the setting. At first, he felt weird––he hadn't celebrated Christmas with anyone in a while. All the jittery feelings and stress he felt earlier gradually drained away. With a lot happening, he didn't have a chance to experience the holiday spirits, but now as he soaked in the comfort of company with Kairi and his friends, despite their intrusion, he was finally feeling what he should be feeling on Christmas.

 _Happy._

Thoughts about what happened with Xion faded away, and the whole issue with the Keyblade and his uncle and Roxas and _everything_ was temporarily buried as he finally allowed himself to relax, enjoy, and laugh. It wasn't the best of celebrations––they were watching horror movies on Christmas, for goodness sakes––but all that mattered to Sora was that, for the first time in a long time, he didn't feel lonely.

"I think your friends fell asleep," Kairi murmured softly as their third horror movie continued to play. Sora sleepily glanced over to see what she was talking about and sighed. Hayner was knocked out in a shrimp position, using the sofa's armrest as a pillow, while Riku used Hayner's butt as one.

"I don't blame them; it's two in the morning. I think Riku was out drinking too before this, so that too." Sora jumped when a huge bang sounded from the movie. Someone had gotten shot as they fell off from a bridge and into a valley to meet their doom.

"I'm getting pretty tired too."

"Weak." Kairi scoffed.

"Am not."

"That's what people in denial always say." Kairi rolled her eyes, but was too tired to think of a retort.

"Are you having fun?" she asked, finishing the last of the popcorn. Sora shrugged.

"I guess, more or less. Too much screaming from Hayner killed the mood though." Kairi smiled.

"Your friends are unique."

"Sadly." The two of them, being the only ones awake, continued to watch the movie. However, it was Sora who broke the silence once more. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for hearing me out today." Kairi felt her heart thump all of a sudden as she turned to make eye contact with him. "I guess you being here made it able for me to celebrate the holidays with actual people, so thanks for that too." His eyes danced with the motions of the TV lights and the tips of his lips curled up lightly for a smile as Kairi felt the steady rush of butterflies invading her stomach at a very dangerous rate.

"Y-y-you're welcome," she stuttered, looking away. She couldn't keep looking at him in the face, especially in the darkness with only the TV lights illuminating the area. They sat so close to each other, she could feel their shoulders brush from time to time. "I didn't do much anyway. That's the least I could do."

"No, I think you should take more credit for making me feel better and less shitty," he chuckled as he turned back to the TV. "It felt good, letting it all out to a person."

"Was I the right person to do that with though?"

"Hm, that's a good question. However, I have a strange feeling that I can trust you."

"Huh?"

"Sixth sense, probably? Dunno. Oh gosh, where did that guy pull out that machine gun from?" Sora brought his attention back to the movie, leaving Kairi and her heart to go out of control. _What's wrong with you, heart?_ Sora's way of talking to her was a lot more gentler today-very unlike his usual rough tone-which she blamed on whatever happened to him earlier within the day, but even so, she couldn't help but let it pull her feelings all over the place. She yawned again as she finally calmed herself down and returned to the movie, feeling her eyes getting droopier by the second.

Right at the climax of the movie, Sora felt a soft pressure on his shoulder, which nearly freaked him out. When he turned to look, he was surprised to see Kairi knocked out on his shoulder, having fallen victim to sleep as well. Sora suddenly felt awkward as he poked her arm softly.

"Kairi?" No response. He brought a hand forward to lightly push away the irritating–looking strands of hair hanging all over her face. As he looked at her, he couldn't help but think for a second that she was unusually prettier for the second time, the first time being at Twilight Square. However, he quickly cast these nonsensical thoughts away as he frowned at himself for having them in the first place before slipping his hand underneath her head. He was planning to gently lay her on the other end of the sofa, but was surprised once more when the phone next to her started to vibrate incessantly.

 _Who would be calling at this time? Must be important._

He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her. "Kairi, someone's calling you."

"Hm?" Kairi woke up, confused as Sora held her phone up to her face to see. She groggily took it and automatically picked up, not sparing the time to read the caller ID. "Hello?" Sora lowered down the volume of the TV so that she could hear better, but almost dropped the remote when she suddenly stood straight from her seat. Her eyes now were wide open, and the grogginess instantly vanished.

"Kairi, is there something wrong?" Sora asked, immediately concerned at the way she just stood up. However, she didn't answer him as she held the phone shakily in her hand.

"V-vanitas?"

* * *

Writer's block this chapter but I managed to pull through T_T Okay back to sleep since I slept at 5am writing this, woke up to realize I didn't even update it, and finished "proofreading" ( I really try guys but my eyes are like blind to typos or something) before finally updating. Peace out, I hope you guys enjoyed this. Thanks to all the story follows and reviews and reader count (people are actually reading this) AHHHHH thanks guys *hearts hearts*

UNTIL NEXT TIME!


	16. Chapter 16

_"Kairi, are you alright?" Tifa asked as she watched her daughter stare blankly at the plate of half-eaten pancakes in front of her. Kairi snapped out of her reverie when she realized all eyes were on her and forced a smile._

 _"Yeah. Everything's fine." Cloud merely glanced above the newspaper in his hand and sipped his coffee._

 _"Doesn't seem like everything is fine. We're all at the table now. Do you have something to tell us?" Namine cleared her throat, stuffed the last piece of pancake into her mouth, and settled the fork on the plate before standing up and bringing it to the sink._

 _"Sorry, I got to run to the library for a group project, so I can't stay to listen." Cloud raised an eyebrow while Tifa frowned._

 _"When did you have a group project? You never told us this." Namine smiled sheepishly as she circled around the table and grabbed Kairi's shoulders from behind._

 _"I'm a senior in high school now, Mom. Do I need to report everything? Kairi's part of it too, by the way."_

 _"As long as you live under this roof, I expect reports," Tifa scolded, darting her eyes between the two in disapproval. "Last minute plans are a no-no from now on. I'll let you off this time."_

 _"Alright, Mom." Namine ushered Kairi to finish all her pancakes before taking the plate over to the sink for her and dragging her towards the front door. "We won't be out for long, so don't worry about it."_

 _"What, you usually don't say that when you're out studying and wor––"_

 _"Bye, Mom!" And before the two parents knew it, their daughters were already out escaping through the front door to go to wherever. Tifa sighed while Cloud folded his newspaper closed._

 _"Something's been up with Kairi lately, don't you think?" Tifa proposed as she wiped her hands dry on a towel and sat across from her husband. Cloud merely sipped his coffee and leaned back against his chair._

 _"Teenagers," was the only answer he gave before he stood up and helped washed the dishes. Tifa rolled her eyes and went over to assist him, wondering how in the world she was able to get married to such a quiet and reserved man._

 _When Namine and Kairi made a safe distance away from their home, Namine stopped and sat on one of the benches near the beach that offered a large view of it. Kairi stood standing, however._

 _"Thanks, Nam––"_

 _"Snap out of it, Kairi."_

 _"W-what?" Namine rubbed her hands together to warm them from the cold––Destiny Island burned during the summer, but it also froze during the winter too. She then gave Kairi a sharp look._

 _"I understand you're going through something hard and emotional-heavy, but how long are you going to do it? Maybe I don't understand because I've never been in a relationship before, but seeing you like this is killing me. All you do is lay in bed and cry all day while I try to cover for you from both friends and family." Kairi bit the inside of her cheek in guilt. "I knew that guy was no good the moment I saw him. Please make an effort to move on, Kairi."_

 _"It's not like I'm not trying." Namine sighed._

 _"I know. I'm just mad."_

 _"Sorry."_

 _"It's okay." The blonde swung her legs a bit before heaving herself up to stand. She patted the back of the bench and signaled for Kairi to sit. "I'm just going to leave you alone now to give you some alone time to think about stuff, okay? I'm sure home isn't a right place to do it right now." Kairi dragged herself over to the bench and plopped herself on it._

 _"Thanks, Namine."_

 _"Yeah, no problem. I'm gonna head off and study in the library for a bit, okay? Feel free to head home by yourself." Kairi gave her little sister one last nod._

 _"Alright." Kairi sighed as her sister disappeared off at the corner. She stared at the waves that kept rolling over the beach shore while gusts of wind made her shiver slightly. The sand looked so clean and flat to walk on; it took Kairi all she could not to go over there and take a stroll._

 _"What a beautiful view," she murmured to herself. She watched the morning sun cast its rays across the sea. "What a sad view too." She felt her around her wrist to trace a finger across the wristband––their wristband. It was a leather white bracelet they got during a festival together. With "V x K" engraved on it, it was their matching accessory._

 _Suddenly, anger rose within her. In one click, she snapped off the bracelet and went over to the metal railing which separated her from the beach down below. With all the strength she could muster, she pitched it far into the vast land of sand. She quickly turned around so that she wouldn't see where it would land and let out a heavy breath as she leaned on the metal rail._

 _"Maybe I should stop being a pile of rocks filled with burden."_

~.~.~

 _"Please, let's meet up one last time. I have something to tell you, and it'll be the last time you'll ever see me. I need to do this or else I won't be able to live with it for the rest of my life."_

Why Kairi agreed to his request, she had no idea. First came shock when she recognized his voice over the line, and second came silence when she failed to respond to whatever he was saying. It was when he said her name again when she just said an automatic "sure" 'cause she honestly let her butt talk rather than her brain. When the call ended, she merely sat back down on the sofa and stared at the TV, which was showing a guy killing people with a chainsaw. Sora waved a hand in front of her face and grew concerned when she didn't even blink. Before he could say anything, she suddenly stood back up and slowly turned towards him.

"I think it's time for me to go home," she said slowly. She clasped her bag and slipped it on her shoulder. Sora checked his watch and frowned.

"It's past two in the morning. Why don't you just sleep over tonight like what these two are doing? I have a room upstairs and you can just lock it if you feel––"

"No it's okay. I'm just going to go. I think my sister would want to see my face in the morning anyway. Can you drive me back?" Sora sighed, stood up, and snatched his keys from the table.

"Alright."

"Sorry."

"It's okay." He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at Riku and Hayner before grabbing a napkin by the kitchen counter, scrawling a few words on it, and placing it back on the table in the living room for them to see if they woke up out of nowhere. "Let's go."

The way back was silent. Kairi held her hands loosely together on her lap and stared at Sora's closed glove compartment while Sora struggled to find the words to say. He opened his mouth to say something, but opted against it––it was none of his business. He had already guessed who she was talking with on the phone, but held himself from making any comments about it.

Whatever she did was up to her.

When they arrived back to the on-campus apartments, Kairi muttered a thanks and opened the door, stepping a foot out. Before she could completely get out, Sora called her.

"Kairi."

"Yes?" She looked at him. He curled his lips up for a tiny smile.

"Merry Christmas." Her mouth shaped into an "o" before she laughed.

"Yeah, Merry Christmas." When Kairi was out of sight, Sora leaned his forehead on his wheel and let out a long breath.

"What a long day."

~.~.~

"My baby!" Roxas groaned out loud for everyone on the streets to hear when Axel suddenly rushed at him and hugged him after spotting him standing in front of their designated meeting place. "I haven't seen you in a while since my home is freaking, like, one hour away."

"I missed you too, buddy. Merry Christmas," Roxas laughed as he awkwardly patted Axel's back. He separated himself to greet Xion too, who were watching the two in amusement. "Sorry I haven't been meeting up lately. I've been busy."

"Ooo, with what?" Xion asked playfully. Roxas chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Just the usual," he lied, "Trying to work on a new design for my dad." Axel blew a low whistle and grinned as he poked Roxas's side with his elbow.

"Future CEO-work, I see. When you get super rich and famous, don't forget your hometown folks, alright?"

"Axel," Roxas blushed in embarrassment, "Don't say stuff like that. You know it makes me uncomfortable." Xion shook her head and joined in on the elbow poking.

"Stop being so modest, Roxas; what he's saying is probably true anyway," she giggled. "Everyone's been blowing up about it on the internet. You don't have to hide it so much." Roxas pulled away from the both of them and forced a smile. That was what he always did when he was beginning to get irritated––and he rarely got irritated. That's how Axel's keen eyes caught his sudden mood shift.

"Shall we get going to that restaurant you wanted to show us, Xion?" Roxas changed the subject. Xion, oblivious to it all, nodded enthusiastically.

"I heard it's really good. Axel, you're probably going to love it, you food lover." Roxas pointed to the direction where his car was at and lead the way for them. As they trailed along, Axel got everyone's attention when he suddenly exclaimed, "ah!" He had remembered something important.

"What's up, Axel?" Roxas inquired.

"Hey, you know where Sora lives, right?" Xion's eye twitched ever so slightly––something Axel also caught too––while Roxas's widened. Axel usually didn't mention Sora amongst them unless he really needed to. Roxas uncomfortably pressed a button on his car remote and opened the door to get in. Axel and Xion quickly followed inside, with Xion automatically taking shotgun.

"Yeah, I do, but," Roxas bit his bottom lip, "why are you asking?" Axel grinned as he leaned in between the seats to get closer to the both of them.

"Riku and Hayner discovered where he lived yesterday night and they want me to crash his place and see it once before we go hang out today. If you could along the way, can you drop me off there? Of course, if you can't, then just drive me to the nearest bus station and I'll somehow––"

"No, it's fine," Roxas cut in, "I can give you a lift." Axel gave him a grateful look before settling back against his seat. Xion, on the other hand, had a slight frown etched on her face.

"You knew where he lived?" she questioned. Axel knew a bomb had set off within her and began playing phones on his game, not wanting to get involved with any of it anymore. _Too much drama._ Roxas swallowed hard when he realized how he had lied to Xion before on how he didn't know when she asked.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't tell you."

"Why? Even Sora wouldn't tell me, and I'm––"

"Xion, there's such a thing called privacy, and even Sora has some. Don't be so surprised." _Just kidding._ He was never going to stay out of anything. Axel mentally laughed. _I'm awesome._ Xion merely glared at Axel, which he returned with a nonchalant shrug while Roxas paid attention on the road.

"How'd you spend your Christmas Eve, Roxas?" Xion asked, switching the subject. "Did you have fun?" Axel sighed, recognizing another one of Xion's tones he didn't like. It was the one she always used to ask questions she already somewhat knew the answer to. _What is she up to this time?_

"Nothing much. Just stayed home," Roxas lied once more. "Had a family dinner, I guess. That was it."

"Aw, you didn't hang out with anyone? I thought you said you were busy on the twenty-fourth."

"...No. Plans changed, so I just spent it at home."

"What happened?"

"People were busy, so." Axel actually and usually stayed out of these types of conversations Xion always initiated with Roxas, since there was nothing he could do about it––and Roxas never seemed to be bothered about them either. However, he began to grow interested and stopped what he was doing on his phone when he heard Roxas spit out lie after lie.

"Aw that sucks. Hey, what's this?" Xion began to rummage through his glove department––because she likes to invade everyone's fucking privacy, Axel thought––and pulled out a gift box. Roxas stopped abruptly, causing everyone to lurch forward violently. Axel thanked the gods that he stopped at a red light; he felt that Roxas didn't even care if it was one or not.

"It's nothing," he said quickly as he tried to snatch it away from Xion's hold. Curiosity now lit, she pulled it away from his reach and gave him a silly grin. _Oh no._

"Now I really want to know what's in this," she giggled, not at all seeing Roxas nearing his explosion. "Can I look at i––"

"Xion, just fucking give it back," he harshly interrupted as he leaned over and took it back from her. Axel's jaw dropped while Xion's eyes widened as big as they could––Roxas never cursed. When Roxas slipped the present into his pocket, he realized what he just did and felt shock and guilt flood him.

"Are you okay there, buddy?" Axel cautiously asked. Roxas stepped on the pedal when the light turned green.

"I'm sorry, guys. I've just been super stressed recently," Roxas admitted. He glanced at Xion and took a hand off the wheel to place it on her shoulder, since he couldn't look at her at the moment. "Sorry, Xion, I didn't mean to burst."

"Y-yeah, it's okay. I'm sorry too." An awkward silence remained in the car for the rest of the ride with Roxas trying to get himself together, Axel concerned for his best friend, and Xion staring at her hands in her lap.

~.~.~

"Hayner, please don't touch that." Hayner's finger froze in midair at the button for the automatic sliding door and shrank away from it. Sora glared at him and threw a set of clothes at him and another at Riku, who was chilling comfortably on the sofa as he switched the channels of the TV. "Riku, get your butt off my sofa; don't act like it's your house."

"Yada, yada, you nag too much," came the reply. Sora groaned as he returned back upstairs to his room to shower, wondering about the well being of his home in the future.

When he came back down, he found his two friends fiddling around with something with their hands. Getting a bit closer, he realized they were examining Kairi's gift and took it out of their hands without another warning.

"Why can't you two stand still for once?" he exasperated, stuffing the paopu fruit charm in his pocket. Riku and Hayner glanced at each other and simultaneously looked over at Sora.

"Why do you have such a thing? I never knew you were the type to keep charms," Riku mused.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," Sora deadpanned, "Now hurry up and change. I want you out of my place so that the contamination can stop." Hayner pouted.

"We're your best friends though, aren't we?" he whimpered. Sora grabbed his keys from the table and put on his swim windbreaker that was lying around on a chair before shooting Hayner a look.

"Did you say Axel was coming?" He left a completely dismissed Hayner to sulk in a corner. Riku stood up and stretched his arms above his head as he nodded, suppressing a yawn at the same time.

"Yeah. We exposed you last night, so he wants to go see. We can go hang out or something, unless you're busy."

"N'aw, I'm not busy. Aren't any of you busy? It's Christmas."

"I'm alone this Christmas again," Hayner cried as he buried his face in his hands. "I'm always spending it with guys when I could be spending it with a beautiful girl!"

"Keep dreaming. It's not your fault no one likes you."

"Hey, you're lamer than me then. You're actually smoking hot; how come you had no girl this year either?" Sora zoned out his friends and, once again, their lack of a love life and tried to usher them out the door after Axel texted him that he was coming soon. When he stepped out of his apartment, he was surprised at the amount of snow that was collected on the streets and was glad that it had stopped last night (or else the whole town would have to start wearing tennis racquets). Just when the three of them managed to get out to the front, a familiar car entered the parking lot.

"Oh, Roxas and Xion are with him," Hayner noted. Sora bit his bottom lip and uncomfortably fixed his windbreaker as the car appeared in front of them. Axel immediately popped out of the car before it even stopped moving and stared at Sora's super huge apartment in awe. It was as if he had never seen anything more magnificent.

"What the actual hell, this is an apartment?"

"We thought the same!" Hayner exclaimed, joining Axel in viewing the outer appearance of Sora's place. "If I had a place like this, boy, I could do many things. Like an indoor soccer field. Boy, I love soccer." At the corner of his eye, Sora saw Xion step out to join the group while Roxas felt obliged to get out of his car too. To avoid any confrontations with the two, Sora went near the garage to open it and take his car out while everyone else was wishing each other a merry Christmas. However, it opened very slowly, causing Sora to grow impatient.

 _This damn door likes to take its damn time._

"So this is where you live, Sora," he heard Xion say from behind him as she examined the place from top to bottom. "How come I never had the chance to see it all these years?" Sora stared at her and tried not to laugh out of bitterness––he couldn't believe how normal she was acting despite what happened yesterday. The pitying thought he had for her was that she actually thought everything was okay.

"Xion, none of us knew where it was too, so don't feel left out," Riku added, never liking it whenever she tried to pull a fast one on Sora. "So don't feel so––"

"Because I never wanted you to. Simple as that," Sora cut in, not needing Riku to cover him or anything. "I don't like having anyone over, so don't take it heart." He barely spared a glance at Xion before he entered the garage when there was enough space for him to. He really wasn't in the mood to exchange another word with her; he wasn't even sure if he ever wanted to ever again. Deep inside, he was still hurting immensely, and he didn't know when it would stop. With Roxas in front of him in the flesh too, it was worse.

 _This sucks._

As he reversed his car, he noticed the wayfinder charms dangling in front of him and got irritated once more. It was the gift Xion gave to him on the day they broke up. _Why the hell do I torture myself?_ He bit the inside of his cheek, and that was when he remembered what was in his pocket. He unwrapped the string that held the small wayfinder charms, carefully put it in his glove department, and proceeded to tie Kairi's paopu charm onto his mirror. He looked at it and laughed.

 _It's kind of cute._

"Sora, how long are you going to keep your car freaking locked?" Axel shouted from outside as he incessantly tapped on his window, snapping Sora out of his thoughts. The three of his friends now surrounded each of his car's doors, waiting for entrance. Sora scrunched up his face and rolled down the windows completely for all three.

"Forever for safety, so crawl in instead."

"Fucking excuse me?" Axel spluttered. Sora rolled his eyes and pressed a button in the side.

"I'm just kidding. Chill." In less than a second, his friends all clambered in, a scene he was sadly too used to. In less than a second, he drove out of the parking lot, not caring if he was being super rude towards the two who were watching them exit. He had enough of them for a day.

After all, he didn't want them to ruin his Christmas with his friends anymore than they already have.

~.~.~

 _"Kai, you're stressing out too much," Vanitas muttered as he watched his girlfriend continuously stare at the list of events for their upcoming track meet. He sighed when he didn't get any of her attention and softly laid his head on her shoulder, listening to the calm waves of the sea while playing with the sand with a hand out of boredom. "You're going to do fine."_

 _"That's what you always say."_

 _"Have I ever been wrong?" He snatched the paper from her and crumpled it up. Much to her horror, he threw it into the waves._

 _"Van!" she exclaimed, hitting him on the shoulder. "Why did you do that? It had all my events on it!"_

 _"Whatever, don't care." He turned towards her and felt a bit guilty when he saw her look of dismay before grabbing her shoulders and pulling her into a hug._

 _"Stop it, you always don't care about the things I do, don't you?" Kairi said angrily as she tried to pull away from him. However, he kept a secure hold on her as he placed his chin on her head._

 _"You know that's not true," he replied with an exhale of breath. "So stop accusing me of crimes." Kairi groaned into his shoulder, completely done with life at the moment._

 _"The school we're against is known to be a powerhouse. This is going to be a hard meet to win. I'll be sad if we don't win our last meet of the year for the seniors."_

 _"Then just fucking win it."_

 _"Easy for you to say!" Vanitas let her crawl away from him. "You make things sound so easy when they're not. It doesn't make me feel better at all." He smirked when she started to pout and opened his arms to her._

 _"Hugging me will make you feel better, since I'm your hot boy toy."_

 _"Stop it, that kind of talk is such a turn-off." However, her actions didn't match her words as she crawled back to him, feeling herself sink in comfort as his strong arms held her. She always liked his scent––he always managed to smell like the sea himself no matter where he was._

 _"How do you want me to talk then?"_

 _"Give me nice comforting words like those romantic princes I see in fairytales."_

 _"Disgusting."_

 _"Why not?" she whined._

 _"Because I want you to listen to my words without me acting like some gay ass prince. Stop stressing out and win it tomorrow. You're going to do fine, since you're Kairi Lockhart."_

 _"What does being Kairi Lockhart have to do with anything?"_

 _"It has to do with everything." Kairi blushed as red as a tomato while Vanitas smirked at her reaction._

 _"I thought you said you weren't going to act like a prince."_

 _"Don't need to act like one when I am one."_

 _"Stupid idiot."_

 _"You fell for this stupid idiot, so." Kairi pulled away and narrowed her eyes at him._

 _"You make it sound like I fell for you first. Don't act so snooty. I'll always remember how you tried to ask for my number out of nowhere."_

 _"It was 'cause you were so fucking hot. Okay, I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding," he quickly said the last part when Kairi started to get angry for real. "Couldn't help myself. You just drew me in."_

 _"Oh, really now? Sorry, it was the opposite for me. Delinquents aren't my thing."_

 _"But my charms won you over, right?"_

 _"Just shut up already."_

 _"But in all honesty," Kairi quirked an eyebrow when his voice suddenly changed. Vanitas gave her a smile instead of his usual arrogant smirks and brushed the hair out of her face. "You're going to do fine tomorrow because you're amazing. I'll come watch you tomorrow, 'kay?" She frowned._

 _"I thought you had work tomorrow."_

 _"Work-schmerk, who cares." That earned him another slap on the arm. "Can't miss my girlfriend beating everyone's ass on the field."_

 _"I guess I really have to do that if you're going to come watch." The both of them laughed._

 _"You do that." Kairi smiled into his shoulder, suddenly feeling like she could do anything._

 _"Thank you, Van."_

 _"Anything for you."_

Kairi was just looking at her phone while taking small sips of water through her straw when the chair in front of her was suddenly pulled back. In that one instant, she felt her heart lurch and her palms grow sweaty. In the midst of the large amount of people in the mall's cafeteria, she could still hear her heartbeat just trying to break out of her ribcage as a figure slowly sat down on the chair.

On her way to the mall, she didn't start to feel some panic until she realized what she was actually doing in the cafeteria seating herself in front of the restaurant they both agreed to meet up at. Thoughts of ditching and flaking swirled within her mind as every second passed. It was really hard not to follow up with the idea, but she restrained herself, not wanting to be a rude bitch or anything.

However, her thoughts did a one-eighty––all she wanted to do now was scram.

"Hey." She awkwardly fumbled with her phone, eyes not looking anywhere else except at the empty space in the middle of the table. All she saw of him was his upper body and his arms on the table. Surprisingly he wore clothes that made him look _not_ like some delinquent with a nice navy-blue long sleeve with black jeans that were actually intact and not ripped at the knees.

"Hi," she greeted calmly, but she was anything but calm. _Oh gosh, I can't look at him._

"Sorry for taking up your time on Christmas, but I leave tomorrow, and––"

"It's okay, just get to the point." She didn't come here to just have a friendly talk to catch up. "Do you have a reason for calling me out here on my spare time?" She watched as his hands clasped together on the table while he twiddled his thumbs repetitively. She was slightly taken aback by this action––he usually only did this when he was super nervous and shy. _Why the fuck are you acting like this in front of the girl you cheated on?_ She didn't know how long she was going to last before she "accidentally" spilled water over him.

"Sorry. I just really have to tell you something before I go back to Destiny Islands. I really have to, or else I'll never be able to move on."

"Move on from what?" Kairi spat, irritation growing gradually. The more he talked, the more confused she was on why she was even here in the first place and why they were even talking to each other. "We have no longer have relations to each other. I really don't understand you."

"... Sorry." Silence. She was expecting him to say something more, but when he didn't, she rolled her eyes to herself and stood up.

"If you have nothing to say, I'm going." She turned around to go, but inhaled sharply when his hand reached out to pull her back. Instinctively, she turned her head back, only to finally make eye contact with him by accident. He looked exactly the same the last time she saw him, but he had a more... innocent look to him now. His black hair was more tamed, and the usual egoistic facade he always had was oddly replaced with a more polite look––he didn't look like a crazed gangster anymore.

Kairi had to rethink her thoughts: he did not look the same at all.

"Sorry, I don't know how to start it, so just hear me out," he muttered softly. She must've had a strange-angry look stretched across her whole face because Vanitas winced slightly when he looked at her again. She glared at the hand that was holding her, and he quickly retracted it back and sat back down. Kairi cautiously sat back down too, settling her purse back behind her back.

"Hurry it up," she demanded. Before he could say another word, a yawn escaped her mouth. She quickly covered it with a hand, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry, I called you late at night."

"Yeah."

"Do you want some coffee?" She couldn't even respond before he stood up and went over to the coffee shop near them. She sighed, leaning the side of her face against a hand. Checking her watch, she wondered when the hell she could just go home and take a nap; she had stayed up all night for obvious reasons, and it didn't help that she binged a couple of horror movies too.

It didn't take long for him to come back with two cups of coffee. She muttered a small "thank you" and was about to take a sip when three cups of cream and two packets of sugar were placed in front of her.

"Oh, do you not add that anymore?" Vanitas asked awkwardly when he saw her ready to drink it. She bit the inside of her cheek hard.

He still remembered what she put in her coffee.

"I do," was all she offered before proceeding to add everything inside. "By the way, how the hell did you get my number?"

"What do you mean? I've always known what it was." _Fuck._ Kairi licked her lips and put her coffee down, rubbing her face with both hands a bit before looking straight at him.

"Did something happen for you to call me out? I mean, you didn't actually travel here to Twilight Town to stalk me or anything, did you?" Vanitas blinked at the accusation and immediately shook his head.

"I honestly didn't know where you were going for college," he explained, "I came here for vacation with a couple of my friends I made in college, since they suggested it. If I never bumped into you the other time, I wouldn't have known that you were around this area." Kairi wished she didn't bump into him then.

"You piss me off," she stated plainly, giving him the meanest death glare she could. He spun his cup around multiple times in his hands.

"I'm sorry."

"I thought you had enough fun pissing me off on the internet, but now you're doing it in the flesh."

"About the internet thing," he pointed out, "I'm sorry about that, which leads me to what I wanted to explain to you."

"Which is?"

"That wasn't me."

"Excuse me?"

~.~.~

"God, I love these Christmas sales," Riku said with a sigh of satisfaction as he played leader of the group. Hayner fumbled with his hair, horribly trying to fix it back in place with gel while Sora and Axel trailed behind the two. Sora felt with a hand the maroon jacket Riku bought him as a gift and smiled lightly, mentally complimenting Riku's taste in clothes.

"What did you do for Christmas Eve, my man?" Axel struck up a conversation. "Don't tell me you stayed cooped up in your freaking condo again did you?"

"Stop exaggerating," Sora chuckled, "And for your information, I indeed stayed cooped up. It was snowing. I don't like being cold. These two knuckleheads in front of us crashed too and we watched horror movies on a happy, spirit-filled day."

"How exciting; a lot more exciting than baking cookies for annoying brats." Sora snickered. Axel and baking and an apron? _Lord._

"Yup."

"Kairi was there too," Riku joined in. "That girl was like immune to all the blood spills and killing in the horror movies we watched. She stared blankly at the TV while someone's head got chopped off with a knife!" Sora laughed, remembering her bored face as well.

"Yeah, she's something else."

"That was the first time I was in close proximity with her," Hayner practically squealed, finally getting the loose strand of hair together with the rest. "Couldn't keep my eyes off of her, which was easy since the movies literally made me shit my pants. She's so god damn cute, I can't."

"She's quite attached to Sora, isn't she?" Riku noted. Sora choked on his saliva, causing his friends to look at him in curiosity. _Not this subject again._ Axel gave him a knowing smirk.

"I don't think so," was all Sora offered.

"I mean, I'm really not trying to tease you here. It's just that whenever I see her, I see you too, and it has been many times already. Never knew you guys hung out and talked that much."

"I mean, she's not a native here, so she doesn't have a lot of friends yet," Sora explained.

"N'aw man, I think she likes you." Everyone's eyes whipped over to Axel, who actually said it in a serious manner. Riku snapped his fingers.

"I think so too, actually, no joke." Sora gaped at his friends before rolling his eyes and walking ahead, finding the whole situation a bit comedic.

"She doesn't. Trust me." He thought about the night before once more and tilted his lips up in a sort-of smile. "Yeah, she doesn't."

"Why not? Honestly Sora, if you just fixed your attitude a little bit, I think any girl would dig you. You're smart, athletic, and so freaking hot."

"Axel, this is why people think you're gay."

"I'm with Axel on this. How do you know for sure?" Hayner said suggestively, catching up to his side. "You don't know what goes in her mind. Sora, I hate to admit this, but you're a more attractive guy than me."

"Hayner, that's not even close to a compliment," Axel guffawed.

"What does that mean, you flame freak?"

"Means you're as ugly as an––"

"Let's not cause a ruckus here guys."

"Just shut up, Muscle Bitch."

"Now you've crossed the line." Sora plugged both his ears with his fingers, walking a bit faster so that the public would not associate him with them.

"Where are we off to next?" Riku asked.

"I want some grub."

"Man, I just ate a while ago."

"Sounds good," Sora said with a smile.

~.~.~

"You're lying to me. You're fucking lying to me. Don't lie to me, Van." Vanitas grasped her hands that were now on the table, and for the first time, she saw a few tears brim at his eyes.

"I'm sorry for being selfish. I'm not. I felt like you needed to know."

"Why did you have to come and tell me all this?" she spat. It felt like someone was crushing her bones together along with her heart inside. All she wanted to do was rip it out, hoping that her chest would somehow stop hurting. "I moved on already. I hated you already. I almost forgot about you, and I almost continued life as if you never existed, so why did you just come back and tell me all this now? Now you're making me relive everything, trying to figure out what went wrong in the first place!" Coffee long gone cold, she tried so hard to wrap her brain around one thing as her emotions swirled in a whirlwind.

"Kairi––"

"Don't talk to me," she cut in sharply. "Give me some time. You threw too much at me in less than freaking fifteen minutes. I'm going to the bathroom." Kairi abruptly pushed her chair back and broke out into a near-run as she made her way towards the bathrooms, eyes staring straight down on the ground. When she entered the bathroom, she splashed water on her face and looked at herself in the mirror. "God damn it."

At the same time, Sora and his friends desperately searched for a table to sit at, but it proved horrible since everyone just _loved_ to go to the mall for Christmas afternoon. Sora was beginning to feel his fingers ache for holding his tray of food for too long.

"Dude, I'm down to sit on the floor at this point," Axel moaned as his tall figure continued to search for a spot to sit. "I don't even want to eat!"

" _Pfft,_ liar," Riku gave a keen look at the amount of food Axel had in his tray and shook his head. "What a glutton."

"Say that again and you'll find yourself in the damn––"

"I think there's a space there!" Sora interrupted as he saw a family leave a table. The three pairs of eyes darted to where he was pointing at. The four of them made eye contact before giving one clean nod before racing towards the table to secure their place. At the corner of his eye, he saw three high school kids coming towards the very same table, and he wasn't the only one.

"Those little fuckers aren't gonna get that table!" Axel roared, cutting through the crowd like a clean knife against butter. Sora laughed as Axel tried to call dibs on the table by stretching his arms forth to put his tray on the table, but he was a second too late, for the bunch of teenagers had their trays on it first. Sora, Hayner, and Riku stopped in their tracks and watched Axel get flamed by the youngsters before he sauntered back with a sad tray and a dejected look.

"What happened to little midgets not getting the table?" Riku said with a condescending smirk. Axel merely flipped him the bird, realized there were children around, and quickly put it away.

"Whatever." Axel gave Riku a playful push, but he quickly let out a yelp in surprise when he actually put a little bit too much force into it. Riku stumbled backwards. His hand shot out to the table behind him to stabilize himself, which he did, but he couldn't help but shake it enough for a cup of coffee to spill all over.

"Holy shit, I am so sorry," Riku stuttered, turning around to survey the damage that was done. Luckily, there wasn't much left in the coffee, but a puddle still formed. The guy sitting there let out a small laugh before shaking his head.

"It's alright, I think." The first thing Sora noticed was the purse that was sitting on the chair across from the guy. _Isn't that Kairi's?_ He looked around to make sure he wasn't hallucinating and frowned. It was then when he looked away from the purse and to the guy that was sitting that he finally connected the two pieces together.

"Where's Kairi?" he asked bluntly, getting straight to it. Vanitas looked up when he heard Kairi's name. A flash of recognition spread across his face when he locked eyes with Sora. Axel, Riku, and Hayner were beyond confused at this point.

"She went to the bathroom," Vanitas answered, a smile forced against his lips. Sora narrowed his eyes slightly; he looked a little bit more presentable than the last time Sora saw him. Suddenly feeling that he shouldn't be there, Sora returned his smile with a polite one and was about to make it out of there, but Vanitas stopped him. "Sora, right?" He raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you know?"

"You're kind of famous on the news right now." Sora let out a silent "ah" before retreating back to the awkward silence between them. Sora figured there was more to it than just the news, but he didn't bother trying to think more about it. He had nothing to say to this guy (not like he had any business to either), and he didn't want to see Kairi because it would just be plain...

Awkward.

Invading her private life was the last thing he wanted to do.

However, before he could take his leave, Vanitas suddenly stood up and pushed his chair in. He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, and that was when Sora spotted the white leather bracelet on his left wrist.

 _V x K._ A no-brainer could've figured out what it stood for––now it was Sora's turn to be beyond confused.

"I think I should be going now," Vanitas admitted, taking his jacket that was draped on the chair. "I think it would be better." His whole composure started to slump as emotions of sadness graced his features. "Yeah, it would."

"I don't think you should leave that there." Sora gestured towards Kairi's purse with a slight tilt of his head. Vanitas seemed to notice that for the first time and smiled sheepishly.

"I'll let you handle it, can't I? You seem pretty close to––"

"I'd rather not. I'm not the one with her right now." Vanitas widened his eyes slightly at Sora's tone of voice before scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry." Sora signaled for his friends to go first with his eyes, which they quickly complied to, and sighed as he turned back to face Vanitas.

"I don't know what's going on, but finish what you started," Sora said lowly. "It's the least you could do. You actually look like a reasonable person, so I trust you to do at least that." Finding nothing more to say, Sora took himself and his now-cold food to join his friends once more, leaving Vanitas to slowly sit back down.

"Sora, who was that?" Riku asked when Sora returned. Sora shook his head.

"Just someone. Hey, I think there's a table over there." He gave a glance back at Vanitas before sighing.

After his hang out with his friends, he immediately went back inside the white room to work on his stuff, having not worked on it for the past few days. Before he knew it, hours passed too fast.

Sora yelped when his magnet flew across the room due to the strong repulsion and groaned, throwing his safety glasses on the table in frustration.

"This isn't fucking working." He decided to give himself a break, since anymore could potentially make him wreck his current progress more than he wanted to. He pressed a button on his keyboard and exited out of the room to go back into his own room. He flopped himself on his bed and buried his face into his pillow, exhausted from doing an all-nighter. He checked his phone and groaned again as he checked the date. It was the twenty-sixth, meaning there were only two weeks of winter break left. _Kill me._ The past two days were filled with activity, both good and bad, and now that it was all over (kind of), the next few days seemed boring and empty to him. With his all-nighter too, all he wanted to do was pass out.

 _I need sleep._

Right when he was drifting off to sleep, his phone jolted him back awake. He let out an anguished groan and looked at who was calling him before answering it.

"What the hell do you need this time, Riku? Let me sleep!"

"... It's ten in the morning."

"All the more the reason!" Sora pinched the bridge of his nose as he flipped over on his bed so that he was lying on his back. "I stayed up all night, so."

"What the, doing what?"

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, what do you need? Why are you disrupting my schedule after doing so for the past two days?" Riku cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Uh, I called you 'cause I thought you would be the best person for this, uh, particular situation. I mean, I know no one else, so."

"Which is?"

"I was just walking around campus for my morning walk when I spotted Kairi. Right now, Kairi's kind of looking weird over at this bench over here on campus, and it's kind of concerning me." Sora rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Why are you calling me again? Just leave her alone." Sora honestly did not know why Riku would call him for this. "Just let her have some thinking time or whatever she needs to do. I think everyone would appreciate being alone from time to time like the human beings they are."

"But it's kind of hard. I can't."

"Why?"

"'Cause I think she's crying and my manly soul cannot leave a crying maiden alone in the cold." Sora straightened up at this and sighed. _Something must've happened yesterday._

"Still, just let her have some alone time. Respect her privacy, man."

"I think she needs someone right now."

"And it's neither you nor me."

"I'm just telling you this, Sora, since you seem to know what's going on. If you're able to make her feel better, which I think you do, I think you should do it. That's why I called you. It's your talent." Sora laughed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Talent?"

"At making people feel better, you dweeb." Sora smiled and shook his head, but realized Riku could not see and groaned instead once more.

"I'm going to hang up now."

"Alright then." Sora threw his phone to the edge of the bed where his feet were and slumped back in bed, reveling the feeling of his soft blankets before rolling to his side and closing his eyes. He really didn't feel like doing anything––not at all––but Riku liked to disturb his peace of mind and make him get out of his bed all the time. Sora literally dragged his body off the bed, settled his knees onto the floor, and stood up to get a random jacket and scarf from his closet to put on before heading downstairs and into the garage to get his car.

When he arrived on campus, it took him awhile to find her, since there were many benches scattered across campus.

Kairi was just sitting there, swinging her legs as she stared at the cement. It was when a sudden warm clothed wrapped itself around her neck that she finally looked up. Sora mentally screamed at Riku when he realized he probably was just exaggerating on the phone because Kairi looked as normal as daylight as she looked up at him in confusion. _I'm going to kill you later, Riku._

"Am I seeing a ghost? Oh gosh, you're real!" He pursed his lips in a thin line when she hit him on the side of his leg with a hand to test if he was actually physically there and yelped when she realized it was really him in the flesh. "Sora! What are you doing here?" She turned her head to see if there was some event happening before frowning. "Is there something on? Ow!" Sora flicked her forehead with his finger and felt his eye twitch in irritation.

"No, nothing is going on." Kairi tilted her head in wonder before scooting to the side and patting the space next to her.

"Do you want to sit down?"

"No." But he did anyway, mostly because he was so damn tired. Kairi looked at the scarf put around her and turned red slightly when she could smell his scent on it before playing with it with her hands. Sora leaned his head back and closed his eyes, feeling the coldness in the air as he let some rest sink in. "Can I ask why the heck you're out here in the cold, cold morning?" He hated being cold, period.

"You like to question everything I do, don't you?"

"Yeah, because you're strange." She shoved him with an elbow.

"Whatever." Silent fell upon them so naturally that Sora nearly fell asleep until Kairi's voice jolted him awake again. "Unexpected things happen to all of us, don't they?" Sora let out a hum.

"I guess."

"Something bizarre happened to me these past few days. Kind of surreal, actually." Sora opened his eyes, recognizing that it was time he actually paid attention. Kairi laughed as she swung her legs and continued to twirl the ends of Sora's scarf in circles. "Weird." Sora didn't say anything, but just allowed her to talk to her heart's content. "Things like that usually make you question everything, and it makes you take steps back and analyze everything again. What a pain in the head."

"Thinking in general is a pain in the head for everyone. Don't feel alone."

"Mhm." It took a while for Kairi to continue, and Sora thought she was just going to skittishly speak in vague turns again, but he was surprised when she openly stated it, point blank. "Yesterday, I met up with my ex."

"Really now?"

"Yeah."

"How'd that go?"

"Obviously not pleasant."

"Relatable."

"Long story short, he told me something surprising that really made my head spin. It's been making my head spin all of yesterday and today." Kairi finally cracked and buried her face in her hands as she leaned forward on her knees. "My head hurts. I don't know what to do. I just left him yesterday feeling all sorts of things."

"What did he do to you?" Sora urged, suddenly worried at her sudden mood change.

"Sora, he said he didn't cheat on me."

~.~.~

 _"There was this girl who was obsessed with me, but I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry," Vanitas admitted, "At first she was friendly, but when she was starting to get too close to me, I let her down lightly. I mentioned you all the time to in hopes of driving her off, but she was getting too much._

 _"What sucks about being who I was in high school, I knew too many... shady people, like her. I knew you didn't like my status as a guy with a rough image, but what I already had, I had. Couldn't really change much. Many people were against me dating you, but they didn't really do anything I couldn't handle, but this girl took it way too far. She just kept bothering me and bothering me, but I just continued to deal with it day by day. She was one of those girls who had a dark side many didn't know about, and it took me a while to know that she was bad news. She had connections that even scared me, and you knew what type of person I was back in high school. Her obsession with me was borderline crazy, and it took all I could to make sure you two didn't meet. I'm glad I was at least successful in that._

 _"However, this all failed when I went to that damn party. I was stupid and let my guard down around her while being absorbed by the fun atmosphere. Before I knew it, she spiked my drink and drugged me. I was completely out of it to the point where I could barely stand, and you just happened to catch me right at a bad moment that night. I don't remember much from that night, but I'm sure she saw you come in and put herself on me on purpose."_

 _"What kind of story is this?" Kairi interrupted harshly, not at all absorbing any of the information she thought was all nonsense. "I saw no signs of any of this you just told me. How am I supposed to believe you?"_

 _"Because I think I did a pretty good job shielding you from all the ugliness of my life," Vanitas said with remorse. Kairi closed her mouth and tightened her jaw, staring straight at Vanitas, whose eyes could not look up to her at all. "From all the parties, drinking, past drugs I used, I didn't want you to see them at all. This isn't an exception either. The morning after the party, she suddenly threatened me––she threatened to hurt you with her ways if I didn't break up with you. I know now that she was probably all bluff back then, but bluff or not, I couldn't risk it, especially with her background, so I was prepared to do what she wanted me to do. What she didn't know was that you were the one to break up with me first with a text, so I guess you made breaking up a tiny bit easier for me. She used your accidental walk-in to her advantage and had control of the whole game. She used you to wrap me around her finger, and it was so bad. I was enraged whenever she pulled you out. Maybe if I was smarter and more mature, I could've handled it better, but I was dumb––I still am, actually. I took all her threats as if they were real. I listened to whatever she said because I was scared she would actually do something. I was paranoid because you were involved."_

 _"At least give me bullshit that is at least slightly believable," Kairi seethed. "I can't imagine this scenario at all. I admit, I'm slow, but I don't think I'm that slow to not see any changes within you." It was as if someone was playing with her because the moment she said that, memories of him acting slightly weird and out of character in the last few months of their relationship made its appearance. She clenched her teeth together, deciding to keep it to herself to see what Vanitas had to say._

 _"I told you, I hid everything away from you."_

 _"I don't get why you would! If this is just an excuse or attempt of trying to clear your name of cheating on me, then it's not work––"_

 _"It's because I loved you!" Kairi shut her mouth instantly, surprised at Vanitas sudden outburst. He clutched the side of his head with a hand and looked everywhere but her. "I'm not trying to make you understand how things worked with my life and the people in it––it's something I don't ever want you to know––but I just want you to believe me. You were everything to me, Kairi, you really were. You, the smart, pretty, innocent angel you were, liked me, the delinquent that didn't give a shit about school and spent his free time in the damn hood. I felt like trash being with you, I'll honestly admit that to you, but you were the light of my day despite the shitty things I did. At first, I just got with you 'cause you were that one girl everyone wanted, but I grew to love you like no other because you became a precious existence in my life. Your smile, I wanted to protect it. I wanted you to be happy, and so I never let you near any of the stuff I did because you deserved to remain pure. I tried letting you go so many times because I knew you deserved someone better than me, but you were too precious, so I couldn't do it, so the least I could do was make sure you continued to laugh and smile every day, even if that meant I would let myself be tormented."_

 _"I thought you cheated on me because I didn't introduce you to my family and didn't let you do what you wanted to me in bed and––"_

 _"Is that how you thought about me?" His voice cracked horribly at the last sentence, exposing every vulnerable spots he had. "I was clearly in an upset mood because of the girl's torment for so many weeks, so I'm sorry if it did show a little bit, but you're so wrong. I treasured you so much, Kairi, you don't understand._

 _"You don't understand..." Kairi clenched her hands into fists on the table as she watched his composure break down. "I tried so hard to shield you from all of it, and I'm glad I did until the very last day. After I recovered from the party, I thought I could just forget it, but when I read your text in the morning, you literally shattered me. I read the lines 'we're over' so many times that I didn't even know what they meant anymore. I knew I could do nothing else to make anything better, especially with the threats, so the time finally came: I went with the break up. I was happy for a moment though––you were finally free from me. I thought, maybe this way, you wouldn't be tangled with my mess anymore. However the more days that passed without you by my side, the more I wanted to rip my heart out and just lay dead. The girl didn't stop her onslaught either, but I didn't care anymore. By then, I was just a lifeless doll she just controlled. Fuck, I'm still kind of the lifeless doll she's been controlling."_

 _"Your current girlfriend...?"_

 _"Yeah, we can call her my girlfriend, but I call her my worst nightmare," Vanitas buried his face in his hands as he shook his head slowly. "She just did whatever. She declared herself as my girlfriend, and I didn't give a shit anymore so I just played along. She has control over my social media, she controls who I hang out with––she basically leads my whole fucking life by now. What's sad is that I find no reason to escape from her. I guess it's my way of atoning for all the sinful deeds I did in my life. She made sure I had no contact with you, but she likes to haunt me and left you as a Facebook friend so that she could keep a slight eye on you too. I know she has an inferiority complex towards you, so she likes to mess with you on social media sometimes, so I'm sorry about that. Yes, I'm talking about the Netflix, and stuff. I figured you forgot all about me and went far, far away, so I just let her do whatever the hell she wanted. I literally had no motivation in life anymore for a long while. It's been like that ever since you broke up with me. How long has it been since we went our separate ways, nine months?"_

 _"Seems about right," Kairi stated plainly. Vanitas bit his lip and decided to finally conclude his story._

 _"I'll make it fast, since you don't seem you don't want to hear from me anymore," Kairi continued to stare him down, "It was hell, basically, but I was practically numb until I entered college. I wonder what I was going to do there, so I just lazed around––I was done hanging around the ghetto areas after you broke up with me, and college was coming around the corner too. In college, I met a guy named Ventus. He's currently a very good friend of mine. Cheerful, innocent, and a hard worker––we were the complete opposite from each other, but I'm so glad we met. We met in the lunch lines when he accidentally bumped into me, spilling all his damn food on me too. Long story short, he was the first one to approach me despite my very dangerous appearance. He listened to all my stories and deemed me a good person; he's basically my salvation. Because of him, I decided to lead a better life, I guess. I started to dress better, became studious, made friends, and basically began living the somewhat-normal life I secretly always wanted. Because of him, I started to have a more positive outlook on life, and with his help, I'm slowly dealing with my 'girlfriend' bit by bit._

 _"And because of him, I'm here right in front of you right now. I told him about my encounter with you the other day, and he was the one who gave me courage to call you and bring you out here to tell you everything. I was told that if I just kept everything bottled up to the person who needed to know the most, it would just eat me up inside. When I go back to Destiny Islands, contact between us can be cut clean, but at least you'll know the full story of what was happening, what caused us to go our separate ways, and that I'm trying to live a better life now, if you're concerned about that at all. I never cheated on you; things just didn't go the way I planned it to be, so here we are, but I'm glad you're looking fine and healthy here in Twilight Town." Vanitas inhaled deeply, as if everything he said tired him out before releasing a breath and giving a very weak smile. "I think I'm done."_

~.~.~

"Shortly after going to the bathroom, I just left," Kairi finished, releasing a huge sigh as she stared up at the sky. "It was too much for me to handle. Believing that someone who you loved dearly cheated on you without a second thought only for him to suddenly pop back in your life and prove everything you thought was wrong in less than a few minutes was overwhelming. Now my mind's just swirling as it continues to let everything he said sink in."

"I would hope so, or else I would call you a super human for handling your emotions so well," Sora replied for the first time in a long while, a bit surprised about Vanitas's story too. "Are you having a hard time... getting over it?" He had the sense that all this made her go back to square one with her emotions, which it did.

"Yeah. And you know what sucks, Sora?"

"Hm?"

"I feel like I need to release something, and not just to anyone, but to him only. It's irritating me. I don't know what it is that I want to do. It's making me roll on bed at night, making me unable to sleep well. It's like I'm holding something back, like I'm––"

"Bottling stuff up," Sora finished for her before sitting back straight against the bench. "Just like him. Didn't you say you just left him after you went to the restrooms?"

"Yeah. I dismissed myself and just went on my way." Sora rubbed more sleep out of his eyes before he faced her.

"Kairi, I might be wrong but... I think you have things to say to him too. After your meeting with him yesterday, you probably have more things to say than ever––it's not just him. Based on everything you've told me, I think you guys separated under really bad terms. Don't you think that, you know," Sora gave Kairi an encouraging pat on the shoulder, "it's time to end it on good terms rather than leaving it as the mess it is now?"

"I can't," Kairi said with regret. "I just left him yesterday. I don't have the courage to face him."

"If he can have the courage to face you, I think you can too."

"I can't, I can't," Kairi repeated. "Even if I wanted to, he's leaving today. It's too late. It's okay, this'll just pass by in a matter of days. I'll be normal again, and––"

"I doubt you'll ever be normal if you leave things as they are right now, and I think you know that better than anyone else," Sora stood up and pulled her arm, forcing her to stand up too. "I bet my entire life that you have many, many things to say to him, and if you don't go, it's going to be your turn to get eaten up. This'll be your only chance too. I won't make you do something you don't want to do, but..." Sora shrugged, already knowing that she understood what he was getting at. Kairi looked around frantically, from Sora, to her feet, and to the sky before taking a glance at her watch.

"I don't think I have time," she said regretfully. "He flies at twelve in the afternoon."

"What time is it now?"

"Eleven. With check-in and baggage check and everything, I think it's too late."

"Better being late then regretting not trying. Come." Sora shook the sleepiness off his limbs before he lead Kairi to his car.

~.~.~

 _"Vanitas, do you like the sea?" Kairi asked as she swung their hands together. With her other hand, she shielded her eyes from the sun as she watched it set across the horizon. Illuminating red and yellow light into the sky, the sun shined brightly for its last few moments of the day before it came back up the next morning. "You seem to like staring at it a lot. And walking on it a lot. Weird."_

 _"What, is it not like me?" he replied gruffly, squishing her hand in a death grip for a second. Kairi rolled her eyes. "I dare you to call me weird again."_

 _"No, it's totally like you."_

 _"Well, shit, will you care to explain?" He laughed when she pushed him by the hip._

 _"Language."_

 _"Whatever."_

 _"You're just very, I don't know, calm. I feel like you think a lot."_

 _"I'm not a nerd."_

 _"Not that type of thinking, idiot." Vanitas suddenly dropped to his knees and sat down, bringing the standing Kairi down with him. She ungracefully landed on her bottom, the sand collapsing beneath her slightly as she sank in its warm touch. "Van!"_

 _"I do think a lot actually," he answered, disregarding her protest about suddenly pulling her down. "The sea just calms me. Taking walks calms me. Taking walks with you somewhat calms me too."_

 _"Somewhat?" Kairi snarled at him. He chuckled._

 _"I'm just kidding, babe."_

 _"Vanitas thinking, what a nice image. Hey, what do you think about?" Vanitas let out a deep hum from his voice before shrugging._

 _"Just stuff. Life."_

 _"Life?"_

 _"I don't know. How I would live life differently if I had the chance?" Kairi frowned, not knowing what he was saying at all._

 _"What do you mean?" He looked at her for a second, smiling, before returning his gaze towards the shifting waves._

 _"Nothing."_

"Are you a soda person or a juice person?"

"...Juice."

"How about smoothies? If you were to pick between a soda, a glass of orange juice, or a smoothie, which one would you pick?"

"Smoothie, because I'm not a soda person, and you made the wrong choice in juice because I don't really like orange juice." Ventus laughed before patting Vanitas on the back. Vanitas merely raised a quizzical brow at his friend for his questions before smiling too. Ventus checked the time on his phone: 11:23 p.m.

"I think we've waited long enough outside. Let's go get our bags checked and go through the gate. Say bye to Twilight Town, Vanitas. Did you enjoy it?" Vanitas looked out the windows of the airport and nodded.

"I liked the food. Destiny Island foods are a bit too... healthy."

"Wow, I expected you to say more, but sure." Vanitas shrugged before rolling his luggage towards the line.

Sora and Kairi ran through the automatic doors of the airport and stopped to look at the masses around them.

"Do you even know what airline he is?" Sora was not going to run around the whole damn airport to look for one black-haired guy––there were too many.

"The most popular one that Destiny Islanders use should be down there," she pointed towards the left. "We can start there."

As Kairi led the way, she wondered what she even wanted to say. There were no formulating words in her mind as she looked around frantically for the familiar black hair she was used to seeing for almost two years. Would she even be able to say what she wanted? She didn't know, but it was worth a chance.

Sora, being taller than her, had better view as he looked above the heads of others. He honestly thought they weren't going to find him at all, especially since it there were only about thirty minutes before the plane left. Any sane person would be past the gates already at this time.

However, he had to rethink his thoughts about time and sane people when he saw a familiar tall figure by the line to get their bags checked. Not sure if it was really him, Sora quickly approached the person and grabbed him by the shoulder to turn him around.

 _Vanitas._

"Oh, you," Vanitas said out of surprise, having had a mini heart attack at having someone suddenly grabbing him from behind. Sora had his hands on his knees now as he paused for a second to catch his breath before standing back up to address him. However, what came out of his mouth was something else.

"What the hell, Roxas?" He probably had a bizarre look on his face as he stared at what he assumed to be Roxas standing next to Ventus because the two of them were giving him weird looks too.

"Are you talking to me?" Ventus asked, pointing to himself. Sora shook his head, blaming his lack of sleep for causing him to hallucinate before turning back to the matter at hand.

"Someone needs to talk to you real quick. If you could spare some time, then." Vanitas frowned slightly, not at all having a clue on who would want to talk to him.

"I'm not sure, I'm about to leave soon. Can you tell me what it is?"

"Not gonna work if it's not from the person herself," he looked around for her familiar red hair and called her out. "Kairi! Over here!" Vanitas's eyes widened as big as they could as he watched the redhead spot them from the distance and jog towards them. Sora stooped down slightly to catch the scarf that was falling off her neck from being too loose from all the running before wrapping it around her again.

"You better say everything you want to him or else I'm going to slaughter you for making me run around so early in the morning," he whispered to her. Kairi nodded, and Sora left the two of them alone as he went over to one of the seats across from them from a distance. He watched as Vanitas said a few words to her before leading her away from the line to talk to her in private.

"Kairi, what are you doing here?" he said breathily, so surprised at her sudden appearance.

"Vanitas, I'm sorry for just leaving abruptly yesterday," she started, but he shook his head.

"No, it's okay. I understand why you would, and it's totally––"

"Van, I believe you. I'm sorry for doubting you." Vanitas hung his mouth open, as if not believing what she was saying. "You threw a lot at me, and all I have to say in response is thank you. Thank you for coming to me and trying to make things right again. Even though things weren't pretty and we left on nasty terms, I can honestly agree that you made me happy when we were together," Kairi let out a shaky breath, "Yes, I was concerned about your reputation, but at the end, I slowly forgot all about it, and I just looked at you as Vanitas. I never knew what you were weighed on you so much, but I can safely say that it never bothered me too much, since I knew you were a bigger person then what you let yourself appear to be. I don't think you should worry about whether or not you deserved me or not because it doesn't matter if I never had thoughts about that."

"Kairi..."

"What I want to complain about is that I wish you would've talked to me more," she continued. "I know you had good intentions from keeping me away from all that stuff, but I wish we could've communicated more instead of you just keeping everything in. Things would've been different if you had."

"That's what I always think about," he said sadly. "I think about what could've happened if I just handled it better, if I just talked to you, if I was just a bit more mature. How you could still be with me if I just did everything in a different way." Vanitas's voice cracked. "Goes through my head from time to time."

"That's why I'm seeing you off with good feelings," Kairi looked at him in the eyes and smiled. "I see the change in you––the change for the better. I'm impressed. I hope you continue to do what you really want to do from now on instead of, well, yeah." Her smile instantly turned into a look of surprise when Vanitas started to tear up.

"Don't look at me. I never thought I would see your smile ever again after we broke up," he said with an embarrassed laugh as he looked away from her. "I never thought that I would see you ever again either."

"Same to you," Kairi laughed. "Thank you, Vanitas, for always being there for me when we were together. I have no regrets. I'm glad you met up with me yesterday." Vanitas nodded.

"Thanks for having hope in useless me."

"Continue leading a better life with your friend over there," she glanced over at Ventus, who were watching them with excited baby eyes. "He seems like a good guy."

"He's annoying too." They both laughed as they looked at Ventus, causing him to wonder why they were looking over at him. Kairi's laugh died down before she had one more final thing to say.

"Vanitas, I know that after you fly back, we're probably not going to keep in touch, so I'll just say it now. I hope you are able to get rid of that bitch. She's not good for you."

"Fuck yeah, I will." A little bit of his old self showed itself to her, making her laugh again. "Been working on it, you don't have to tell me."

"I'm being genuine when I say contact me when you get rid of her as a sign of victory."

"Sure."

"Yeah." Kairi let out a breath, figuring that she had said all she wanted to say under such a time-crunching situation. "I think I'm done." She wasn't expecting it at all when he suddenly let go of the handle of his suitcase and pulled her in for a hug. She stood rigid.

"Thank you again, Kairi. I'm grateful." Kairi slowly brought her arms up to return the gesture, gently patting his back with one hand.

"Yeah. I am too."

"I think that you'll always have a place in my heart. I think I'll always love you in that tiny place in the future." In a matter of seconds, everything they went through went through Kairi's mind, from the walks on the beach to the track meets she ran with him supporting her by the sidelines. From the night drives in his car and ice cream dates during the winter to the silly burrito dates they had because he was craving it and the homework sessions she forced him to attend––they would always be in her heart too.

"Me too, Van. Thanks for everything." He pulled away from her and patted her both on the shoulders. He glanced over to the side at something before grinning knowingly.

"I'll get along with Ventus, but you gotta get along with him too, in a different way." Kairi didn't know what he was talking about, but when his head kept tilting towards a certain direction, her cheeks prickled horribly. Sora was merely leaning against his knees as he scrolled lazily through his phone, as if waiting was killing him slowly inside.

"We're not like that."

"I've never seen you without him. From the karaoke place, mall, internet, and now, you two are always together, aren't you?"

"Mall? Internet?" She quickly understood the internet part from the incident at the mall, but she didn't quite get the mall. Vanitas seemed to have realized something before he shook his head.

"Nothing."

"Van, we got to go!" Ventus called from behind. "Come, come!" Vanitas gave him a thumbs up before looking at Kairi for one last time.

"Good luck in Twilight Town, Kairi."

"Good luck back in Destiny Islands." He nodded before grabbing his luggage again.

"See you again?" Kairi grinned.

"See you again."

Sora watched as the two exchanged farewells, glad that they were finally done. He felt awkward watching them, and he had to turn away when they started hugging. _Seems like everything's fine._

"Sora." He looked up to see Kairi stand before him. "You look like you're dying from boredom."

"You're right about something for once." He heaved himself up and felt a dizzy spell pass through him. _I really need some damn sleep right now._ "Done?"

"Yeah."

"Everything okay?" She gave him a cheerful thumbs up.

"Yup. No regrets."

"Nice." He stretched his arms above his head before walking towards the entrance with Kairi following right behind him, all the franticness gone from both.

"It's sunny today," Kairi noted when they stepped out. "Weird."

"For your information, it's not weird," Sora shot back. "It snowed yesterday and the day before." Kairi rolled her eyes at him, already expecting him to bite back in some sort of way. He checked the time and hesitated whether or not if he wanted to eat lunch or go to sleep, but since Kairi was with him, he thought otherwise. "What do girls want to eat when they experience heartbreak?"

"Why are you asking me?" Kairi tilted her head in curiosity. Sora blinked.

"This is the part where you're supposed to be super ass sad and beg me to take you out for ice cream or something."

"What's with you and ice cream?"

"I really like sea-salt ice cream when I'm feeling like a pile of shit." Kairi gave him a look of bewilderment before laughing and shaking her head.

"Who said I was sad and heartbroken? Just wrapping up loose ends here, man."

"I mean, with all that has happened..."

"I got over him a long time ago, and you were there to witness it too. What exactly are you thinking here?" Sora was slightly confused at how she was so okay with it.

"Forget everything I said. I'm just surprised."

"At what?"

"At how well you're handling this." Kairi put a finger to her chin as she playfully thought about why.

"I guess there's a reason why."

"Want to let me know?" Kairi thought about it for a while before shrugging to herself––she had nothing to lose.

"...Sure."

"What is it?" Sora flipped his phone in the air and caught it back in his hand, something he usually did whenever he found nothing to do with his hands. The two entered the parking lot and walked towards his car.

"Are you really sure you want to hear it?"

"I mean, you're making me super curious right now. Just spit it out." He flipped his phone in the air once more. She took a deep breath.

"Sora, I think I like you."

 _Crack!_

Kairi winced as she stared at the phone that was now on ground face down. Sora wasn't facing her, so she had no idea what kind of look he had on his face.

"Tell me something I don't know," he joked after a few, prolonged seconds with a laugh at the end. "I like myself too." He bent down to pick up his phone, muttering about how he hoped his phone screen wasn't cracked. Kairi felt her vein pop at how he just dismissed her like that and quickly bent down in front of him and put a hand on top of his phone before he could pick it up.

"Sora, I like you."

"I told you, I––" he abruptly stopped when his eyes looked up from the ground to her. Her cheeks were red while her purple-tinted blue eyes looked at him expectedly for him to say something. He swallowed hard before standing up and backing away from her, but not without stumbling on his feet lightly.

"Why'd you drop your phone like that?" she scolded as she picked up his phone and looked at the severely damaged glass screen.

However, the wellbeing of his phone was the last thing on his mind as he stood wondering whether or not the lack of sleep was fucking with his hearing too while his heart was beating uncomfortably faster.

 _I need sleep._

* * *

Here you go guys c: *drops bomb* I thought that it was a little too soon, but after 100k+ words, I hope it settled it right. Sorry for updating like two weeks later. Writer's block killed me again and work has been bleeeeh. Most of my friends are going off for college already, so I spent a lot of time with them too and didn't have time to work on this chapter a lot, but I hope the end of this chapter will compensate well 8) I'M SUPER LATE TO THE PARTY BUT KHIII I'M SO READY, WHO'S READY WITH ME TTTT_TTTT *GOES BUY A PS4* WOOT. Anyways, yes, I hope this chapter was good. The whole vanitas thing, I had a hard time trying to make it more bigger since I think I hyped it up a little bit too much, but then the point of it is that communication is important! I wish I had more character development with him instead of just putting everything in this chapter but I suck at character development (and this is the first time i'm writing fanfic too) so yolo

But yes, I hope you guys liked this chapter! Thanks for all of the support *heart*


	17. Chapter 17

"Tidus, you're falling behind in warm-ups! Just 'cause we had winter break doesn't mean you can start slacking off!"

"Yes, captain!" Sora sighed as he watched the blonde continue his sets, making sure to keep an eye on the freshmen as well. With huge competitions coming up, practice was going to have to get more intense, and with the coach gone for a week due to a broken leg, Sora had to take care of most of the things for a while. Having a sport as an extracurricular along with being an engineering major _plus_ doing his secret hobby, he swore he was going to collapse out of nowhere one day.

"You look stressed, Sora." He turned around and gave a small wave to Aqua, the girl's swim captain. "Do you want me to take over a few things?"

"N'aw, it's okay. I got it. Finished practice with the girls?"

"Yup. About to head out right now. Don't overwork yourself, dude. Your transformation into a zombie is getting faster at an alarming rate. You're technically only a sophomore too; don't age too quickly."

"Thanks for the concern. Pence, straighter legs! This is Twilight University's swim team, you can't have that here!" Aqua winced when Sora started yelling and ruffled his hair affectionately before leaving the pool. _He needs to chill._

After morning practice, Sora quickly showered and rushed out of the pool so that he could make it to his 8:00 a.m. chemistry class. He literally ran across campus––location and time to go to class from the pool was regrettably the last thing he thought about when he was planning his winter quarter––and burst through the double doors a little bit louder than he would've liked. Hair almost dripping wet, he gave an apologetic look to the professor before seating himself in at a random place. He tried not to breathe like a dying cow as he calmed his heart rate. The person next to him seemed a bit freaked at his sudden appearance.

"Whoa, you just appeared out of nowhere." He looked over his shoulder to see who spoke to him and raised an eyebrow.

"Nami."

"It's Namine."

"I forget." Sora just couldn't remember her damn name. She handed him a handkerchief, which he shook his head to. "It's okay." Namine darted her eyes between her handkerchief and Sora before mentally shrugging, placing it back into her tote bag. When class was over, Sora was ready to dart out of there and get his second breakfast because he was just _starving_ , but Namine stopped him.

"Hey." Sora glanced back to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?" Namine shouldered her tote bag and stepped out of her seat. She pointed to the exit.

"Are you grabbing breakfast?"

"Yeah."

"I'll swipe for you."

"Huh?"

"I'll pay for you."

"Well, I know what you meant, but––"

"As an apology." Sora was about to ask for what, since he was beyond confused, but when she just went ahead of him, he decided to follow her. He didn't really talk to her a lot, since they never encountered each other a lot. _I mean, I can't even remember her name._

They walked for a while to reach the popular dining hall in the center of the school in silence. There wasn't much to say between them, and Sora was too lazy to dispel the awkwardness of it. He was just naturally anti-social, even if he didn't admit it.

"What do you want?" she asked when they were in front of the food. He looked at the day's menu and did a mental count on how many things he wanted.

"Two banana pancakes, plain yogurt, an apple, orange juice and a small portion of oatmeal." He saw Namine's eye widened slightly at the numerous things he wanted before nodding slowly. She got his share and her own share and was about to slide her card at the register until he suddenly got his card out of his pocket and slid his in place of hers from behind her. Simply grabbing a fork, spoon, and napkin from the dispensers, he picked up his tray and led the both of them to a table, leaving Namine to stare at his figure and wonder how much of a gentleman he really was before grabbing her own tray and following close behind him.

"I said I could pay for you, not the other way around." Namine insisted when they sat down at a two-seater near the fake fireplace. Sora shrugged as he stabbed his pancake with the fork and just took a bite from the whole thing; knives were a pain.

"I don't like to be in debt," was all he offered. Before she could say the same thing back, he continued. "So what's up?"

"Huh?"

"... Do you have something to tell me?" Namine let out an "ah" before nodding.

"Sorry about our last encounter." Sora frowned. At first, Namine thought the mention of it made him angry and shrank in her seat out of fear, but the more he frowned, the more she realized that he was just trying to remember what encounter she was talking about. _Wow._

"Sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about," Sora said with a small and sheepish smile. "Want to refresh my memory?" Namine facepalmed, wondering why she was here in the first place if he didn't remember it at all.

"Last month, I came up to talk to you about the Keyblade, but it seemed like a sensitive topic, so I'm sorry about that," she explained. A light bulb lit above his head as he finally understood what she was getting at and nodded.

"It's okay," he said, feeling uncomfortable as he hoped that this would be the last mention of it. Deep inside, he wondered if Kairi betrayed him, but he felt guilty when he realized she didn't based on Namine's reaction—he still had trust issues.

"Is there a reason why?" she asked hesitantly. He wondered why she was so interested in it, but she answered it with the next thing she said. "I'm super interested in how the whole system works, but if you can't really answer my questions, then it's okay..." She pouted a little bit, and Sora couldn't help but imagine droopy puppy ears on the top of her head. Feeling a bit bad, he finished his first banana pancake before he continued.

"I don't know if you would understand anything I would say though," he tried at first, but his eyes nearly bulged out when she informed him of what her major was.

"I'm double majoring in computer science and electrical engineering. I think I could understand a few things."

"Holy shi––" he stopped himself from cursing and cleared his throat. "Really?" Namine ate some of her yogurt and nodded innocently.

"Is there something wrong?" _No, nothing's wrong––just that you might be a fucking genius._ Sora shook himself awake from the shock and forced a smile.

"No, nothing at all."

"Does that mean you'll tell me stuff?" Her eyes lit up. Sora tugged at the collar of his shirt in more discomfort; her shininess was starting to rub off on him.

"Not exactly. Maybe another time." The droopy ears appeared again as she let out a sad "alright" and poked her spoon into her yogurt. Not knowing what else to say, Sora just continued his meal in silence. When they finished eating, the two dumped their trays and exited out the dining hall, meeting the warm sun of the winter. Sora thought the business they had between them was done, but he had yet to learn that Namine was a very stubborn person.

"Do you have any interest in exchanging secrets?"

"What?" He stared at Namine as her glittery eyes shone lights at him again; it was kind of too bright to look at. She opened her mouth to answer, but Sora shook his head; he was kind of afraid. "I'll pass." He wasn't sure what kind of secrets she would have against him anyway. Pouting, she let it go and sighed.

"You're hard."

"Not the first time anyone has said that to me." Namine giggled; she found him oddly funny. Giving her another weird look, Sora cleared his throat and walked her to _wherever—_ he wasn't sure when they could just separate—as he took out his phone to check his email. Seeing the nasty cracks running through his phone like veins, Namine winced at the horror before her eyes.

"And what happened here?" Sora uncomfortably cleared his throat as he stuffed it back his pocket.

"It suffered a horrible injury," was all he said to elaborate. If Namine had more context, she would've detected how nervous he sounded.

"Alrighty then. You might want to get that fixed soon. But anyway," Namine looked left and right, and then at Sora, "where are you heading?" Sora blinked at her and then gave her a shrug.

"I just haven't found the right time to separate." At this, Namine laughed. Sora had absolutely no idea why she kept laughing, and neither did she. She just found him so oddly funny.

"You're actually an awkward person, aren't you? Here, here, you can separate from me now." To emphasize her point, she made a shooing motion with her right hand. Her other hand was literally carrying five textbooks, which caused Sora to question whether she had the muscles to do that.

"Here," he sighed and motioned towards the books, "I'll go after I take you to wherever you're going." Namine glanced at him curiously and followed his line of sight before grinning.

"Hey, I'm not going to reject that offer." He thought that she was going to reject at first, but he certainly didn't expect her to just dump the books into his arms without a second thought.

 _I can see why they are sisters._

"To the library we go!"

If Sora could see the future, he would've cared less about Namine and her heavy-ass books if he knew he was going to encounter one of the most awkward situations he had ever encountered in his life.

The moment he entered the entrance of the library with Namine, Riku and Kairi were there on the left table chatting and Roxas and Xion were on the right table doing the same. The four of them probably didn't know each other's presences if they were going to sit near each other like that. Sora didn't know whether he had gigantic, loud feet or something, for the moment the two of them entered the library, the four pairs of eyes landed on them as if they were expecting them.

"Mother fucker," he cursed underneath his breath. That was really meant for himself, but Namine heard him loud and clear.

"You got beef too?" she muttered underneath her breath. "What are you doing, don't stand like a lost duck."

"I thought you were the nicer one out of the sisters," he joked uneasily as he allowed himself to be pulled by Namine to the return section. "You know, if I knew this was going to happen, I would've let your arms die. Why are you running away too?"

"Why did you grow up to be so sardonic?" she muttered. Kairi wasn't wrong about his attitude. "And there are some people I just don't want to see right now."

"How many?"

"Two?"

"I beat you. I got a whooping three." Namine raised an eyebrow at him but didn't question him any further.

They sadly didn't get really far from the four until the start of the awkwardness began.

"Namine." Sora could sense Namine just getting rigid as they both stopped in their steps. Sora made a face to himself, wondering what he did to deserve this, before he turned to face Roxas. Roxas gave him a guilty glance, as if apologizing for just being in front of his face, but his business clearly wasn't with him.

"Yes?" Namine answered uncomfortably.

"I just wanted to talk. I'm not sure what's going on, but if we could spare a moment and—"

"I'm kind of busy right now," Namine cut off. If Sora knew him well, Roxas wasn't the type to be this assertive, especially in this type of situation, but something must've happened to make him this desperate. _What's the relationship between these two?_ Seeing how uncomfortable Namine was, Sora hesitantly stood in front of her.

"She doesn't want to talk," he curtly told him. He felt awkward, considering there was a gigantic stack of books in his arms that did not help with his intimidating glare. Roxas, surprised at his intervention, grew embarrassed and took a step back.

"Namine…"

"Hey, I already told you," It was Sora's turn to step back when the familiar redhead cut in between him and Roxas, creating a double shield for Namine. "Stay away."

"Kairi—" Sora got a nice whiff of her shampoo the moment she stepped in and tinted slightly before taking another step back.

"Kairi, it's okay," he heard the sister mutter, but Kairi wasn't getting any of it. When he saw Xion staring daggers at Kairi, he finally realized that the issue between all of them the week before still hadn't resolved.

"Let's not get feral again in the library," Xion sneered as she approached the four of them. "Public decency, please." Sora refrained from eye contact with the blue-haired girl.

"Xion, what are you saying?" Roxas asked, confused at her sudden involvement. Xion shook her head and pulled him away from Kairi.

"I'll tell you later once we're away."

"Go ahead and tell your bitchy lies," Kairi spat, mood clearly not getting better with Xion now in the picture. "And you," she looked over at Roxas, who was clearly not understanding what was with all the tension, "Go ahead and believe all her bitchy lies." Scared that she would actually jump them, Sora pulled her back by the crook of her elbow as he balanced all the books in one arm.

"Let's not cause a scene here," he muttered into her ear. "I don't want another Godzilla-King Kong fight again." She shrugged Sora off and let out a breath of frustration before stalking back to Riku, who had been ready to intervene if a cat fight started again. Sora ushered Namine towards the return section, leaving Xion and Roxas hanging.

"You know, when you're avoiding someone and they're calling out for you, you walk faster, not stop," Sora said lowly as he stuffed all the books into the return section. "That's what real avoiding is."

"Well, I'm not good at that, so," Namine replied, a bit embarrassed.

"Thought you and Roxas were buddy-buddy," Sora said unknowingly, since this was the girl who Roxas confided with, but he also didn't know much about what happened between all four of them, since Kairi never really disclosed what had happened for all of them to breathe fire at each other. However, he then had a thought about Xion, who was somehow always involved with Roxas's affairs, and it all somewhat kind of clicked.

"Eh, not really."

"Uh huh."

"And what about Xion?" she poked back. "Thought you guys were buddy-buddy." Sora simply shrugged.

"Eh, not really."

~.~.~

Sora was simply walking towards the parking lot after his afternoon classes when he suddenly felt a small push on his back. Expecting it to be Riku, he surely wasn't ready to have a face-to-face confrontation with Kairi.

"Yikes," he accidentally let slip out. He shut his mouth open, wondering how he could train himself to control his mouth. Kairi frowned and tilted her head in a questioning matter.

"Yikes what, hm?"

"Nothing." He unlocked his car and opened the door, but closed it shut and locked it again immediately when he saw Kairi ready to open the door at the other side as well. "Excuse me, and what are you doing?"

"Crashing your place," Kairi muttered. Before Sora could even say a refusal, she continued. "Please."

"You can't just crash my place whenever you like."

"Please. I just really don't want to be in my room right now." Sora knew the exact reason why she didn't want to be, but that wasn't enough to budge him.

"Stay over at Selphie's or something."

"I can't sit _anywhere._ The floor is literally littered with her shopping bags and Namine's art supplies." Kairi had to admit, whether she liked it or not, that her sister wasn't the tidiest person in the world. "Plus, I'm not even going to sleep over at your place, chill."

"I wasn't even thinking about that."

"Sure."

"Just stay at the library then."

"Hm, why are we on the tips of our toes here?" In less than a second, Sora found himself with his back against his car as Kairi cornered him. She innocently tilted her head to the sides and stared him right in the eyes. "If I didn't know otherwise, I would think you're _nervous_." Sora pulled at his collar and looked away.

Sora had really tried to do his best at acting normal as possible ever since that day, but it surely wasn't going to work if Kairi was going to keep doing this to him.

 _~Last week~_

 _The car ride back was unbearably awkward. Kairi was just looking out the window while Sora had his eyes focused on the road. Never in his life had he ever been so awake after an all-nighter—however, he would not substitute this with coffee._

 _"_ _You missed a turn," Kairi spoke up softly. She pointed a finger at the window. "We were supposed to turn at that street."_

 _"_ _Oops, sorry." His mind was scrambled as he did a U-turn to circle back. All it did was chant "why" over and over again as he robotically drove back to the university to drop Kairi off. It didn't help that his eyes were burning too._

 _When they arrived on campus, the both of the exited out the car, silence heavily prevailing. Sora blinked hard to temporarily relieve his dry eyes and awkwardly shut the door of his car. He'd rather not say anything and just drive away, but he knew that would be extremely rude._

 _Especially when he suddenly received a confession which he deemed popped out of nowhere._

 _ **I should at least reply or something. Isn't that how it works?**_

 _He wasn't boasting or anything, but this wasn't the first time he had ever been confessed to. A year in college and an additional four years of high school gives a lot of room for those types of things to happen, but every time it did, he knew exactly what to say. He was never shaken, nor did he ever stumble with his words._

 _But as of right now, he was so perplexed on why the right words were not forming in his head. He wanted to reply to her, but he didn't even know_ _ **how**_ _._

 _Figuring that he would just let his mouth do the talking instead of his brain this time, he opened his mouth to say something, but Kairi beat him to it._

 _"_ _It's okay; it's clear as daylight that you have no idea what to say." He instantly shut his mouth and guiltily looked over at the side._

 _"_ _Sorry."_

 _"_ _I should be sorry. I got too caught up, so sorry. I know how you're still hung up about Xion." She didn't catch how Sora was blinking in confusion, since she was also not looking directly at his eyes. It took him a second to realize what she was talking about before he bit his bottom lip._

 _ **I wasn't even thinking about Xion at all.**_

 _"_ _It's okay. I'm just a bit… confused."_

 _"_ _About?" Kairi leaned against his car and twiddled with her index fingers. "I'll give you answers, since it's the perfect awkward time to do it." Kairi could tell that Sora was beyond his comfort zone; he was not acting snooty for once. It kind of creeped her out at how much of a different person he was, being all polite and soft-spoken._

 _"_ _This whole time, I just thought you and your ex… you know."_

 _"_ _I guess you obviously didn't believe when I said I was fine and that I was seriously over him." Sora scratched his head sheepishly and sighed._

 _"_ _I just didn't expect it. That's all." Kairi felt a slight pang in her chest._

 _"_ _So you never viewed me as a girl?" Sora frowned._

 _"_ _Kairi, you know that's not true."_

 _"_ _Yes, I know, I'm just being sensitive right now." Kairi rubbed her temples and sighed. "But can you blame me?" Sora's throat hitched when she looked up and made eye contact. A faint blush colored her cheeks as she moved the snow underneath her feet with one foot._

 _"_ _Kairi—"_

 _"_ _But it's okay. Don't worry, I just wanted to say it. Do I regret saying it? I don't know yet. But that'll depend on you, right?" Kairi did that little head tilt of hers that Sora always thought was cute and smiled lightly. "You don't have to struggle with a reply or anything."_

 _"_ _But—"_

 _"_ _I don't want to force it out of you. Let's just continue to be good friends, okay? I promise I'll be normal, so don't worry."_

~.~.~

"Get away." Sora gently pushed her face away with a hand and unlocked his car door. Kairi took it as the signal to get in and let out a "yippee!" before scrambling over to the other side of the car. He sighed, wondering how he became so weak, before starting the car and driving away.

"I forgot to mention. When were you ever close to my sister?" Kairi mentioned as they exited out the parking lot.

"Hm? I'm not."

"Then why were you with her today?" Sora tapped his wheel with a finger as he stopped at stoplight.

"She had books, so I carried them for her." Kairi let out a hum.

"Hm, I see. What a gentleman."

"I always am." If Sora didn't know any better, he would've thought that she had a small pout on her face. "I thought you knew that a long time ago."

"Hm, I guess." Things were obviously more uncomfortable than the two would've liked it to be. Every word Sora said just sounded so _forced_ to him.

 _Kill me._

He thought he was going to die during the whole remainder of the time that Kairi was going to spend at his place, but he was luckily saved when he saw his three idiot friends already in front of his apartment. The moment they saw his car, they started to let out sounds that were similar to monkeys.

"Woot, woot, Sora's here! Hey, I think we can officially call this our after-class hang out place!"

"You fucking wish," Sora grumbled as he clicked a button above his head to open the garage and drove in. Shutting off the engine, he escaped the awkward air to attend to his friends. Kairi, feeling a bit forgotten and out of place, slowly exited as well. However, she just stuck around the car, not wanting to intrude.

"How were your classes today?" Axel asked as he fooled around with his spiky red hair. He really needed to re-dye his hair, for his natural roots were starting to show, and he wasn't really rocking that type of look. Sora shrugged.

"Same old, same old. Unintentionally enrolled in a class that's way too close to my practice time, so I got to sprint every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."

"Do you have to click in?" Riku peeped in. Sora shook his head.

"Nope."

"Podcasts?"

"Nope."

"Friend?" Sora thought about it for a moment.

"Eh, sure."

"Then just skip class, dude." That earned him a whack on the head by Axel.

"Skip class, don't pass, you fool. That's why your GPA sucks great dick right now." Riku ignored him and continued to give Sora "enlightening guidance."

"Is this friend smart? If this person is smart, it's time to play the cards right and leech." This earned another smack by Axel. Even if he didn't do too well in school, he strangely believed in school integrity. Sora simply shook his head in an amused matter and shrugged once more.

"I guess she is. Double majoring in electrical engineering and computer science—that's kind of awesome." At this, Kairi's ears perked up. Having an idea about who Sora was talking about, she had an unsettling feeling at her stomach before he shook her head out of it.

 _Stop it with these bad thoughts, especially towards your freaking sister._

"Kairi, how long are you going to stay in the darkness?" She snapped out of it and looked at Riku, who was beckoning her forward. Hesitantly, she stepped out of the garage and joined the circle of guys. Sora looked at each and every one of them and frowned in disappointment. Unexpectedly, he pulled Kairi's arm and positioned her behind him protectively. Her heart leapt.

"I'm going to stop bringing her around you guys if you keep ogling her like she's food," Sora said with slightly narrowed eyes. "What are you, a pack of wolves?"

"Sora, you don't have to say it like that," Hayner said embarrassingly. "You make us sound… thirsty."

"And who said you weren't?"

"Sora!"

"It's okay, Sora," Kairi muttered with a weak laugh at the end. Of course, she felt uncomfortable, but she was just going to ignore it. With a sigh, Sora let her go and turned around.

"Let's get in. It's freezing." Fishing for his keys in his pocket, he left the four of them behind as he went to the door to unlock it. Riku gave Kairi a knowing pat on the shoulder and smirked.

"He sure is protective of you, isn't he?" Kairi rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I wish."

Inside, the heat of the apartment rushed at her face, giving her a slight shiver of relief at the welcoming greeting of warmth. She rubbed her hands together as she shook the snow off her shoes and looked around the huge ceiling. Axel and Hayner immediately jumped on the sofa and turned on the TV.

"Man, living in dorms and on-campus apartments really makes us appreciate what luxury is," Hayner whimpered as he reveled in the feeling of the nice leather sofa. "How nice!" Sora looked at the two of them before letting out another sigh and disappearing off into the kitchen. Kairi tentatively settled herself on the edge of the sofa while Riku plopped himself right in the center.

"Wonder if I could live here. You know, crash here every so often," he remarked.

"Hell no," came Sora's immediate and curt reply. Kairi laughed and shook her head at Riku, who simply gave a playful pout. She stood up and went over to the sliding door. Always having been fascinated by it's automation, she pressed the button and jumped slightly when it opened super quick. Blasted by the cold winds of the winter, she shuddered as the warmth of the apartment flooded her again.

"That wasn't a smart idea," Sora snickered as he passed by her with a mug in his hand. "Not sure why you would do that, but Kairi is special, isn't she?"

"Sora is annoying, isn't he?" she mocked back, but inside, she was burning with embarrassment. How could she tell him she was a nervous mess around him? As if to make it worse, he shoved the mug up to her mouth with a nonchalant look and sighed.

"I feel like you need this more than me." She quickly allowed him to deposit in her hands as he dwindled over to his friends, who were now arguing over what to watch on the TV. Pouting, Kairi wondered if he seriously forgot about everything and realized that only she was lamely fidgety.

With a sigh, she trudged over to the rowdy boys and plopped down in an available space, which was between Sora and Riku.

"Bad memories," Sora muttered. It didn't take long for all of them to realize what he was talking about.

"What are you talking about, we made your Christmas lit, yo!" Hayner exclaimed as he punched at the air. "It was a hella rad time!"

"You got an additional pack of awesomeness this time," Axel butted it, puffing his chest out. Kairi laughed at the antics the two pulled, but she couldn't help but agree that it was a fun time, despite the events prior to it. Sora's apartment definitely didn't feel as foreign as it did the first time she visited.

"Hey, so did something happen between you two?" She jumped at the sudden whisper directed to her and faced Riku. Kairi really had to stop herself from wiping that smug look on his face and gave him a smile dripping with sweetness and sarcasm.

"Nothing at all. Why did you ask?" Riku rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he leaned back fully against the sofa. Kairi handed him the mug, which he tentatively took a sip of. He did not trust Sora's handiwork at all, since he couldn't cook for shit.

"You're jumpy as fuck. If you're gonna act normal, at least do the job right."

"Please, like you're the one to talk. You start getting all jittery when a girl's on your ass." He threw his hands up immediately.

"Hey, that was a while ago. All I did was say her make-up was not the top that day." Kairi mentally facepalmed at the boy's carelessness with words.

"You have no delicacy."

"Hey, no one has as perfect make-up as you."

"I barely wear any."

"Exactly." Riku gave her a wink. If she had just met this flirtatious dude, she would've flamed at how smooth he inserted that, but knowing him and how he just said this stuff to tease her, she elbowed him hard on the side and simply took a sip of her hot chocolate. He crunched over in pain, not expecting that one at all.

"Sora, is something wrong with your leg?" Sora stopped the swinging of his foot and uncrossed his legs the moment Axel snapped him out of it. He didn't like the look Axel was giving him and frowned.

"No, nothing's wrong. Why'd you ask?" Axel let out a low hum; Sora also didn't like how he seemed to know more than he did, especially when he didn't know what it was about.

"If I didn't know any better, I would assume you were a bit, I don't know, _irritated_."

"Of course, I am. People are now invading my house like it's their own."

"Oh sure, that's why." Not wanting to humor him anymore, Sora just fixed his eyes on the screen, pretending that he was not at all bothered by Axel's looks. He had thought that Axel had given up, but the moment he felt Axel's body purposely push him to the side—harshly might he add—he knew that he was going to bring him out and kill him personally later.

"Oh!" Kairi squealed as she suddenly felt herself getting squeezed. Sora's familiar smell flooded her senses as his body squished right up against hers. The sudden close contact made her dizzy.

"Oi, Axel, do that one more time and I swear you won't find your dorm keys anywhere," Sora growled, propping himself right back up. Kairi didn't let the way he refused to even give her a single look go unnoticed.

"Ooo, how threatening. Sora's threats are starting to get soft, aren't they?" Axel teased as he feigned fear. Sora gave him a jab to the side before resettling back on his seat. However, he must've felt jumpy, for it wasn't long before he stood straight up.

"I'm going to be in my room. Sleepy," was all he said before he left the four of them to climb upstairs. Riku glanced at Axel, who simply shrugged.

"Hey, not my fault."

"It's always your fault when he's irritated because only you have the true talent to tick him off."

"Naw, man, you givin' me too much credit." Deep down, Kairi felt guilty. Although she didn't really have clear evidence for it, there was a nagging feeling that she was making everything uncomfortable for him by just being by his side. Biting the inside of her lip, she followed Sora, leaving the three of them now behind. Riku continued to give Axel a look, while Hayner simply enjoyed the TV, not knowing what was going on.

Sora was about to close the door when Kairi's figure suddenly popped in between it. A bit surprised, Sora widened his eyes, and before he could say anything, Kairi let herself in and closed the door behind her.

"Yes?" he let out tentatively. He took a step back from her. They were a bit too close.

"Sora, I—oh!" Kairi took a courageous step forward, determined to get her words across, but it didn't head off to a good start when she tripped on her own feet. Instinctively, Sora looped his arms around her as they stumbled a few steps back and fell on his bed with a thud. He groaned when he felt his bottom land on his phone which he had thrown on the bed earlier.

"Aren't you being a little bit too bold?" he mumbled as he watched her regain herself. It took him a lot of willpower not to continue holding her down because she felt really soft and smelled really good. He then blinked.

 _Sora Hikari, what did your mind just think of?_ Kairi flushed as red as a firetruck when she noticed their position and lifted herself up. He propped himself up by his elbows too and raised an eyebrow when she didn't budge.

"Is it bad?"

"Huh?" He awkwardly slipped his hand under his bottom to take his phone out, since he did not want to continue squishing the poor thing. He had to use his phone as an excuse to look at it because he could not directly look at her. _Should I tell her to get off?_ He didn't want to be rude though, and she seemed kind of sensitive.

Plus, he guiltily liked the physical contact. His hormones needed pest control.

When she didn't reply, he urged her once more. "What's bad?"

"My feelings for you." Sora frowned, but let her continue. "I feel like a nuisance."

"But you're no—"

"I feel guilty having these thoughts about you." Sora swallowed a huge lump. "I feel guilty wanting to be close to you." It was as if some force was pulling him into her. Her eyes were glazed with an unknown emotion while her hair fell over her heart-shaped face. Sora swore she was putting him under a trance, for his heart was racing a million miles per hour as he leaned in to be closer.

Why?

Because he honestly just liked being close to her.

"But I… I can't—"

"Why are you feeling guilty?" he let out softly, unintentionally interrupting her.

"Because I feel like you're just really don't like my presence anymore."

"What makes you say that?"

"You're just avoiding my eyes now…" Kairi looked away, realized what the hell she was doing to him, and made the motion to get off. "Honestly, Sora, if you don't want me near, you can just say it. I won't misunderstand or anything because I get it." Sora frowned and swung his legs over his bed.

"It seems like your misunderstanding something," he muttered. "It's not like I dislike you now or anything."

"Then what is it?" Sora bit his bottom lip.

"I don't know, I'm just a bit confused. But I about you—"

 _Thud!_

The two of them jumped in surprised at the sudden loud sound by their door. That was enough to wake Kairi up and she immediately got off of his bed. Sora, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at the now-cracked open door.

 _It was fucking closed before._

"You should've locked it," Sora muttered to Kairi, who was confused at what he was referring to. He got off his bed, walked over to the door, and swung it open, letting the flood of boys enter his room with a rough crash. Kairi couldn't have felt anymore embarrassment than this.

"Oh, hey, Sora," Hayner stuttered as he scrambled off his feet. Riku and Axel did the same in a very flustered manner. "We're just trying to find the bathroom, you know."

"Yeah, uh huh."

"And yeah, we just—yeah." Riku stuffed his hands into his pockets while Axel looked somewhere else _not_ Sora.

Sora simply sighed.

"Just get out of my apartment."

As Sora gave everyone the death glare, Kairi wished she could've known what Sora was going to say.

 **To all my still existing readers... xD Sorry for this really really REALLY overdue update. I entered something called college lol... and it's by quarter system too... lol so I hope you guys understand. I barely have time to myself anymore ToT! But have no fear, I'm always going to continue writing until i finish this story! Tell me what you guys think 3**


	18. Chapter 18

Sora groaned as he settled down the Keyblade he was working on and banged his head onto the table. No matter how much he wanted to get shit done—especially after all the unwelcomed visits from his friends—he just couldn't.

 _Curse you, Kairi._

He decided to call it a day and shut everything off before seeking salvation in his room, but even then, thoughts about her just wouldn't go away, even when they haven't even talked for a straight week. Jumping into his bed, he threw the pillow over his face and let out another irritated groan. Even when his eyes were closed, all he saw was the red hair and purple-tinted blue eyes.

"Someone help me."

What was worse was that he couldn't sort out any of his feelings at all. It was seriously making his mind go all over the place. No doubt, he was attracted to her—he was at least going to admit that—but anything more than that, he didn't know.

 _Ring!_ _Ring!_

His mind switched over to his phone as he picked it up. He was about to automatically swipe it to answer, but he shortly stopped himself when he saw who it was.

 _Roxas._

"And what business does he have to call me?" Sora muttered as he threw it back on his bed. Roxas called an additional two times, but Sora disregarded all of it, not interested in what he had to say. At first, he thought about all the things that could've involved him, but after realizing that there probably wasn't, he didn't give a crap.

Looking back at it, Sora wished he would've at least answered the call.

~.~.~

"Party? Tonight?" Kairi sipped her warm water from her flask.

"Yup. You up for it?" Riku wiggled his eyebrows to urge her to go, but she thought otherwise as they sat in one of the round tables of the dining hall. Remembering the last time she went, she wasn't sure if she would like a repeat. It was as if Riku read her mind, for he shook his head. "Don't worry, I don't think you're going to be crazy like last time."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, I saw everything." Kairi rubbed her face with her two hands, very done with her life decisions and choices. Riku simply laughed.

Kairi didn't know when her and Riku suddenly became so close to just hang around and stuff, but they did, and it was pleasant. Of course, he gave her a red flag in the beginning, but after getting to know him, their conversations just clicked.

"I think I'll pass."

"I swear whatever happened last time won't happen to you again. Plus, I can get Sora to come and keep you company if you want."

"And why would I need Sora to—you know what, there's no point in trying to pretend anymore, since you seem to catch the drift," Kairi groaned as she saw the suggestive look Riku was giving her. Trying to hide her crush on Sora was in vain with Riku because he just _knew_. How could he not know the girl who likes his best friend? "Besides, is he really a party-goer?"

"Eh, not really, but he can get wild if he wanted to." Kairi's ears perked up.

"Oh really? Like how?"

"He ended up in some random girl's house without having any recollection of it, if that gives you any context. And no, not in _that_ way," Riku quickly corrected at the end when Kairi gave him a disturbed look. "He was just dumped there."

"He must've been super fucked up, holy shit."

"Yup."

"Hm," Kairi sipped her water again. "I mean, I guess I'll think about it if I'm free. And no, I'm not going because Sora's going, don't give me that look."

"Uh huh."

"Come here and I'll kill you."

Out over the other side came Sora and Namine from their morning class.

"Please, Nami, I—"

"It's _Namine._ "

" _Namine_ ," Sora repeated exasperatedly. He clapped his hand together in a pleading motion as he followed her from behind. "I swear I won't miss class anymore, so can I just have your notes for Monday?"

"You should've planned your schedule accordingly with your swim schedule," Namine said with a _tsk_ at the end.

"It was just one day, and it was _the_ day he didn't put up podcasts. _Please._ " Sora never begged his hard for something in a long time, and it was seriously hurting his pride. "They're just _notes._ "

"If they were _just_ notes, I don't think you would be this desperate."

" _Nami._ "

" _Namine._ " Namine attention shifted to Riku and Kairi, who did not notice them yet, and gave another disappointing shake of her head.

"If you're going to be desperate about something, you should be desperate about my sister."

" _Excuse me?_ "

"Nothing." She skipped along, leaving Sora to continue trailing her from behind in order to save his potential grade.

"Aren't they friendly?" Riku whistled lowly as he watched Sora tail Namine like a lost puppy. "Having classes with someone really creates bonds."

"Yeah, it does," Kairi watched with slight amusement at the two, fighting down the jealously. She kind of wished she could have classes with him too.

"You know, if you wanna snatch him, you have to be more direct."

" _Excuse me?_ "

"Nothing."

~.~.~

"So, I was going to shoot that basketball in, but I found his face a little bit more, I don't know, _appetizing_. So guess what I did."

"…What?"

"I shot the basketball in! …Dude, what did you think I was going to do, smash his face?" Hayner sighed as he listened to Axel's fond memories of basketball in middle school. "I'm actually proud. I played like a good sport."

"Uh huh." Axel opened his mouth to say more, much to Hayner's dismay, but he was stopped when Roxas came running out of nowhere from the corner. He grabbed Axel by the arm and looked at him, desperation and terror strewn across his face.

"Roxas, what's up?" Axel asked worriedly, a bit surprised by the look on his best friend's face.

"Sora," he said, stopping for a moment to catch his breath. "Where is he? Do you know where he is?"

"I'm not too sure." Roxas cursed, making Axel a little bit more worried; Roxas only cursed when he was either extremely angry or extremely stressed.

"Okay, thanks."

"Wait, Roxas!" However, his words died in the air as Roxas raced off somewhere else, leaving Axel and Hayner completely confused at what was going on.

~.~.~

Kairi shifted through her closet quickly, not just because she was literally making Riku wait outside for her, but because she really didn't want to encounter Xion if she came back from _wherever_. Kairi had been seeking refuge in Namine's and Selphie's dorm—a lot of cleaning had to be done—so being in her room was one of the last things she wanted to do.

When she realized that she was an absolute lost cause in fashion, she rang up her sister.

"Namine. Fashion dilemma. I need your help, _quick._ "

So in a matter of minutes, Namine was able to sprinkle some magic and doll up Kairi for the night with a simple maroon crop top and black short shorts. Kairi, on the other hand, wasn't really digging the look.

"Why not?"

"Don't you think this is too…" Kairi slipped a finger into the crop top between her cleavage, " _exposing?_ "

"Kairi, it's a party."

"And?"

"…Just go. You're making Riku wait."

"Right," Kairi gave Namine finger guns, "Thanks sis! I can always trust you with clothes, despite how I kind of don't agree with your choices, but I trust you!" Namine rolled her eyes as her sister and she bolted out the door. Pushing up her glasses with a finger, Namine settled back down on her bed and opened her book to the page where she last left off.

"Alright Kairi, when I first proposed the idea of a party, you didn't look too excited, but you seem pretty excited now," Riku said with a raised brow when Kairi entered his car. Kairi stuck her tongue out as she buckled her seatbelt.

"Girls always wanna look pretty, so shut up."

"Yeah, yeah, here we go."

When they arrived, Kairi nearly dropped her jaw on the floor. She was expecting something small, like a typical frat house, but she was not expecting a whooping _mansion_.

"Bro, what kind of friends do you have here?" Riku locked his car, twirled his keys, and winked at her as he casually walked towards the entrance.

"What can I say, I'm just that amazing."

"Yeah, right." Kairi jumped at the voice. Somehow, things suddenly became ten times hotter the moment Sora, who had been waiting near the entrance the whole time, came up to them. In a matter of seconds, Kairi wished that she could change her outfit.

However, that thought swiftly changed when Sora simply glanced at her, and then glanced back at Riku.

"What took you so long?"

 _What?_

Kairi wasn't really expecting a response or anything—rather, she didn't _want_ one—but at the same time, she kind of wanted one. Even a little insult would've sufficed, but the way he nonchalantly just glanced at her to acknowledge her presence was just _wow._ They hadn't really talked to each other since the last time at his apartment because of busy schedules, but he could've at least said _hi_.

 _Idiot._

"Shall we go in?"

"I'd rather not," Sora grumbled as he followed Riku in.

The only thing Kairi really saw when she entered the mansion was darkness, cups, and dancing bodies with humidness encompassing everything. There wasn't much of a difference than the last time she went to a party except that this time, she was actually completely sane.

"You're going to be a good girl tonight, right?" She literally shivered from his voice since it was so close to her ear. Even though he definitely didn't mean it in a sensual way, the way he said it in a husky tone was certainly giving her different vibes. Not showing this reaction of hers, she turned to face him and growled.

"Watch it, Hikari," she said over the loud music. "Or else you're going to get cut."

"Ooo, we're on the last name basis now. How fun, _Lockheart_ ," he replied back with an amused smirk. "Don't have too much fun though. Not here to babysit. Kind of surprised you'd still want to go to one after the last time." Kairi realized then that he was never, _ever_ , going to let that time go. Normally, she wouldn't have went to these types of events, but…

She just wanted to spend some time with him outside of school. _Sorry Riku, I lied._

But just because she had these thoughts about him didn't mean he still didn't annoy the hell out of her.

"I don't know, I thought you always cursed Riku whenever he dragged you. If I didn't know any better, I would actually believe you came here on your own will." This emitted a laugh.

"Think what you want," he said with a wave of his hand. Suddenly a cup was thrust in his hand, and he looked over at Riku with a quizzical eyebrow. "What's this?"

"Go have fun, idiot. I'll watch you two to make sure you aren't randomly kidnapped again, right, Sora?" Kairi snickered while Sora narrowed his eyes at him.

"Don't you dare tell her," he hissed, especially when Kairi gave him that devil smile of hers.

"Too late," the both of them said. He sighed and looked into a cup before taking a sip and giving Riku another look.

"What's with the change of heart? You haven't been out drinking for a while." Riku simply shrugged.

"At least one of us has to be sober."

"And it's usually me."

"That's why," Riku clapped him on the back, "So just go out there." He gave Kairi a cup too. "You too. Don't worry, it's not spiked." Kairi very hesitantly took it out of his hands and took a peek into the cup, very traumatized.

"Sure…"

"I swear you won't go as crazy as before."

~30 minutes later~

"Haha, is it me or is the world kind of sideways?" Sora and Riku watched as Kairi stood and stared at the ground before erupting into small giggles. Sora shot Riku a look, who just guiltily gave a small smile.

"I didn't know she was a lightweight."

"Yeah, you clearly didn't." Sora took a step forward to help her, but he wasn't in tip top shape himself. He drank a little bit too much too. He usually didn't but seeing Kairi and her presence just kind of made him down some too. _I'm going mad._

"Dude, I'm completely right in the head. No need," she swatted Sora's hand away when he tried to offer her help. "Just let me adjust." Riku and Sora were a bit surprised when she wasn't lying. Other then her tipsy self, she was actually one-hundred percent sane. "And are you guys always like this at a party? Hanging around near a wall?"

"Let me have you know, missy, we're both just watching you," Sora said with slightly narrowed eyes. Both him and Riku really felt like babysitters, and it was for a very, _very_ clear reason.

She was extremely attractive tonight.

But of course, they didn't let her know this.

"Huh? Why's that?" She did her little cute head tilt. When they didn't respond, she simply dropped it and stuck her tongue out. "Well, I'm not going to be boring like you two. See you later!" Before Sora could stop her, she just plunged into the crowd somewhere. Sighing, he gave up, although making sure he could keep her in sight. Seeing this, Riku smirked and poked him with an elbow.

"Why don't you follow her and keep her company? Parties aren't fun when you're not with someone you know." Sora frowned.

"What about you? What are you going to do?" Riku chuckled and gave Sora a slight push on the back.

"Being cupid."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Just go. Shoo, shoo." He gave Sora another push into the crowd and gave him a wave of a hand. "Don't worry about me." Sora gave him a hesitant look before listening and searching through the crowd for Kairi. Riku simply scrolled through his phone and found a sofa to seek refuge in. Sighing, he crossed his legs and shook his head. "I want a cute, serious girl too. I got no time to be cupid." But deep down, he truly just wanted his best friend to find happiness in someone already, and quick. "The things I do."

Kairi never really danced before, but she could've easily fooled anyone with the way she was moving. A bit more let loose because of the alcohol in her system, all Kairi cared about was to have fun. With everything going on her life, personally and academically, she just needed a break. If Sora hadn't come with bug repellant, aka himself, critters would've definitely invaded.

"Hands off," he growled to a guy she had not noticed at all. She almost yelped with the way Sora grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into him protectively. A sense of déjà vu hit both of them as Sora mouthed "fuck off" to the obscene dude, who was sadly disappointed that Kairi was already with someone. Her senses suddenly became hyper aware with the way Sora's hand was dangerously low on her hip and how the very faint smell of his cologne wafted underneath her nose. Deciding to play it cool, she put a hand on his chest and cocked an eyebrow.

"Protective, aren't we?"

"Yeah, got a problem?" She literally hiccupped at his response. _What the actual fuck_? She was not expecting that at all, but when she saw the slight flush of his face, she knew that he was also not completely right in the head.

"I do when you're kind of interrupting my fun."

"You can have fun, but not when you're attracting wolves, idiot." He let her go when he determined all pests were exterminated, but they remained close as they mingled within the crowd. His eyes had to remain strictly on her face, or else they would've started to guiltily wonder to places they shouldn't be at.

'Cause he sadly was the biggest pest next to her. _Fuck._

"You think I don't know I'm attracting wolves?" she replied slickly, catching Sora a bit off guard, since she seemed so unaware most of the time. She giggled and gave him a poke on the chest. "I know I'm looking good tonight, and I like the attention." He wasn't sure why—although he could possibly blame it on the way she said it—but a small streak of jealously shot through him and he gave her very questioning look.

"I never knew you wanted to impress people this way." This time, he didn't feel bad letting his eyes roam. Kairi felt her cheeks prickle because now he was _definitely_ checking her out now. Their previous conversation was slowly turning into a flirting session, whether the two liked it or not.

"Well, there was one dude I wanted to impress, but he gave me the side eye instead." It didn't take two shits to figure out who she was referring to as Sora rolled his eyes. He suddenly leaned in closer and shook his head.

"What was I supposed to say, that you were freaking _hot_ out of the blue?" He leaned back, satisfied with Kairi's reaction. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He didn't have enough time to prepare himself for the sudden grab of his collar as Kairi pulled him down to her eye level.

"You're a wimp, 'cause I have no problem calling you eye candy," she said lowly over the music. The look on his face was enough for her, and she let him go with a satisfied push. "That's right, boy, don't test me." It was her turn to face retaliation as he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her forward once more.

"Don't test _me_."

"So you want to dance?"

"Sure, Princess." However, it was anything but an elegant ballroom dance. When she wrapped her hands around his neck, he automatically ran his hands down her sides to rest them on her hips. He definitely would not have been so daring if he was one-hundred percent sober.

But he wasn't. _Haha._

"Do you have a thing for me or not?" Kairi asked as she turned around to lean against him. "You're making me anxious here."

"Hm, dunno," he said into her ear. "Honestly dunno." His mind was a bit tangled up to the point where he was almost running on pure instinct. What he wanted to do and what he wanted to do with Kairi were slowly being released into the wild as he held her close to him. Call him crazy, but being with her just suddenly felt so… _right._

"That's not really a good answer," she turned around again and faced him. "But is it okay if I assume that you do?" Sora leaned closer and smirked.

"What would you do if I said you could?"

"I would do this." Not expecting it at all, she grabbed his collar and pulled him down right in front of her face. He was about to lose it for a second and just lean in and kiss her crazy because he just really wanted to continue drowning in her for the night, but the moment he realized what the heck was going on, he snapped out of it. He never became so sober so quickly as all the tangles in his mind unraveled and his sanity came to pull him back into reality. Right before she could do something reckless, he covered his mouth with one of his hands while the other pushed her away by the shoulder.

"Kairi," he breathed, "stop it." Even if she was a bit drunk, it didn't stop her from accessing his actions as a look of hurt splashed on her face. He took a step back away from her and tried to regain himself. "Not like this."

"Like what?" He shook his head.

"Let's not do something we would regret." She wasn't sure why she was so sensitive, but she took that harder than she should've as she looked at his expression filled with remorse. Already having a sense of what he was feeling, she sighed and ran a hand through her hair as they separated from the crowd.

"Yeah, you're right," she fixed her top and dusted her shorts off. "Let's not. I think I understand what you want from me now." Sora frowned as she stalked away towards Riku, who was giving them weird looks.

"Kairi, I think you're taking me the wrong way here." He didn't want them to do something like that at a god damn party with their minds obviously intoxicated and out of whack, but it was clear to him that Kairi did not get that message. When he grabbed her shoulder, she simply shrugged him off and stumbled by her feet by a bit. Riku quickly came over to the two of them.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Kairi shook her head and gave Riku's arm a pat.

"Drive me back. Actually, drive me back to Sora's because I'm not sleeping at that witch's coven tonight," she turned towards Sora, "Don't worry, this will be the last time I will impose on you."

"Holy shit, Kairi, hear me out here." She ignored him as she stalked out towards the exit, leaving Riku and Sora to watch her from behind.

"Dude, what did you do to her?"

"More like what I didn't do to her," he mumbled as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. Letting out a sigh, Sora admitted defeat for the night and decided to just talk it out with her in the morning. "Let's go."

With the car ride unbearably silent, Riku dropped them off in front of Sora's apartment without another word. By then, Kairi and Sora were sober enough to walk with stable ground, but still a bit tipsy as they walked toward the door of his apartment. Sora didn't know what to say to break the silence, but he figured Kairi would just prefer sleep, rest, and his face gone.

 _Girls are difficult._

"You know, if you don't like me, you shouldn't be so nice to me," she said as they walked. "It's misleading." He was very confused at this at this statement.

"What, do you want me to treat you like trash then?"

"I wouldn't want that either."

"Then what the heck do you want?" He didn't mean to sound so aggressive and rough, but he just did, and he kind of wish he didn't. Another look of hurt adorned her face for a split second before it got replaced with a frown.

"So you're the victim here, huh?" He knew that there was a part of her where the alcohol was still talking, but he too wasn't in the position to even consider that as he glared at her.

"Are you kidding me here, Kairi? What do you want from me? Are you trying to a pick a fight with me?" He took out his keys from his pocket and searched for the one his door.

"It's your fault that you're being so carefree around me when you obviously know how I feel." He was growing increasingly frustrated as he tried to look for the right key, and Kairi wasn't helping at all with her drunk rants. "I wouldn't be so mad if you at least—"

"I never asked for these feelings from you anyway," he let out in a half-shout, immediately shutting her up. "So just…stop." His words died in his mouth when he realized how much of a dick he was being with her and instantly regretted his words. Riku always said that whenever he had alcohol, his mouth would get a whole lot more obnoxious and explicit, but Sora never believed him.

Now he did.

Because he _really_ messed up this time.

Kairi's eyes widened for a moment at his sudden outburst before she regained herself. Sora bit his bottom lip and attempted to say something to make up for it, but she shook his head.

"I get what you mean. Just open the door."

"But—" he stopped himself. Saying anything more wasn't going to help when both of them weren't sober. Finally deciding to just leave it for the next morning, he sighed and inserted the key into the door. However, the moment he did, a shiver ran down his spine. Kairi frowned when he just stood there frozen for a second.

"What's wrong?" Under the moonlight, his expression did not sit well with her.

"The door's unlocked." He quietly took his key out of the door and pulled Kairi protectively behind him as he leaned his ear against the door.

"Did you forget to lock it before you went out?"

"Of course not, I always lock it." She suddenly became scared as she clung onto his sleeve. Hearing nothing, Sora apprehensively opened the door with a creak. He figured that that was one of the stupidest life decisions he has ever made—what if someone was actually in his place? He felt relieved, however, when he didn't see anything suspicious when he turned on the lights. Nothing seemed to be out of place.

Except for the faint stains of footprints that lead up the stairs.

It was as if a dark nightmare was coming to life.

Sora paled.

"Sora, what's wrong?"

"No, no, no, no, no," he muttered repeatedly with such terror as he stumbled into his apartment, leaving Kairi to become very worried. "No, they can't, they can't. They wouldn't. They don't know anything." He staggered up the stairs in a hurry, nearly tripping and falling backwards on the steps.

"Sora!" she quickly followed behind, so scared out of her wits at Sora's strange and terrified behavior. He took the familiar route to the room where all his work laid. What he saw made him want to burst out crying in anguish. Kairi gasped as she put a hand over her mouth. Sora punched the wall next to him, letting out a yelp from Kairi.

The room where all his work laid, all his father's dreams laid, was ransacked, scavenged, and torn as the papers of his work were scattered everywhere on the floor. The case where all his keyblades laid were gone, and the drives that he used to operate the whole thing disappeared. The only thing he saw now was the white room of nothingness as he fell and knelt down on the floor. The initial shock that hit him was slowly dying away, replaced with the feeling of emptiness as he witnessed the raw scene with his eyes. Kairi didn't need an explanation to figure out what had happened.

His work was stolen for a second time.

 **Written under stress of exams; enjoy xDDDD X_X TTTTOTTTT (my non-existent writing skills are dying as I go through all nighters xDDDDD)**


	19. Chapter 19

It had been a week since Sora came to classes. Most of his friends brushed it off as him being unproductively lazy, but the longer the week stretched, the more they grew concerned. They didn't really think much of it when they all planned to visit him at his place, but the greeting wasn't what they expected.

"Stop fucking bothering me and get the hell away," Sora growled when he opened the door. He didn't plan to in the first place, but the incessant knocking and noise was pissing him off. Riku and Axel adorned a surprised look as a response to the ferociousness he greeted them with before it morphed into worry and confusion. They really didn't like the expression of pure coldness on his face.

Because it bore a striking resemblance of what he looked like in high school.

Hayner, who didn't get the context at all, simply chuckled nervously and clapped Sora on his back.

"Hey now, let's not be all pissy. We were all worried about y—" he stopped abruptly when Sora roughly shrugged off his hand.

"Worry about yourselves." And with a slam of the door, Sora left the three of them hanging.

"What the fuck was his problem?" Hayner grumbled as he kicked at the wall next to the door. He hissed in pain, regretted his decision, and looked over at Riku and Axel. "What, aren't you guys a little bit annoyed at his attitude too?" Axel had his arms crossed as he stared holes at the door while Riku had a hand on his chin, deep in thought. Hayner simply blinked—they clearly knew more than he did.

But not that much.

"Was he like that when he was with you last week?" Axel asked. "You were the last to see him, right?"

"He seemed alright," Riku replied. "Wait, although…" he thought about the little fight Kairi and him had when they left. He didn't think that anything would be that serious for him to act that way, but that didn't stop him and Axel from asking anyway after classes.

"I don't know anything," Kairi replied flatly as zipped up her jacket. It was getting really cold the more they stood outside. By the tone of her voice, something definitely was up, but she wasn't spilling.

"You do know Sora has been shutting himself up, right?" Kairi sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She felt bad that his two best friends did not know anything about what caused Sora behave the way he was, but it was something she just couldn't tell anyone. After all, a promise was a promise.

"I do, but I can't tell you why. Even I can't do anything about it, so hopefully, something will change with his situation," was all she could say. That night, she could never forget the way he looked as if everything in his whole entire life was stripped away from him—and it was. When he surveyed the ransacked room with those empty eyes of his, all Kairi could do was watch. When it all sank in, Sora simply exited the room and slammed the door of his room shut, leaving Kairi without a glance. The next morning, Kairi simply left, and she had not talked to him since.

Besides the lingering thought of what she could do for Sora, another one was really disturbing her.

Who had done it?

"Ah, I see. Thanks," Riku said, clearly not satisfied. Axel let out a sigh before letting out an anguished scream and kicking the snow beneath him, startling both Kairi and Riku.

"I'm fucking pissed," he huffed. "He's being a little bitch." Riku frowned.

"Axel, I think he's just going through—"

"We've been his closest friends since the dawn of time, and he's not willing to open up, not now, not before, and I guess not ever." Riku shut his mouth. "We still stayed there for him when he was going through plain shit in high school, but he doesn't even tell us what the fuck is up. Are we even friends?"

"He has his reasons," Kairi butted in, sensing that things were going through a downward spiral. "So don't—"

"Redhead, I appreciate your words, but hearing you speak more is pissing me off." A look of hurt streaked through Kairi's face as Riku frowned deeper.

"Axel, I get that you're angry, but you shouldn't—"

"Doesn't it tick you off? We've known him since high school, but this girl seems to know everything, and she only met him a few months ago! I wonder how much we even mean to Sora." He didn't give Riku a chance to refute what he said as he shook his head and stalked off towards the other direction. Riku rubbed his face with both his hands while Kairi just stared at the ground.

"Don't worry about Axel. He just needs to blow off some steam," Riku muttered assuringly. "He's just a bit butthurt at Sora's behavior. Don't take it to heart."

"Alright," Kairi responded with a sigh. However, she couldn't stop from feeling like she had to do something about it, but she didn't even know where to start.

 _What kind of feelings is he harboring right now?_

~.~.~

"I heard the dining halls are having something special today to change things up a bit. Let's check it out?" Xion suggested as she hung on Roxas's arm. Normally, he would politely shrug her off, but because of the recent events that has happened, he was instead lost in deep thought. "Roxas?"

"Sorry, yes?" Xion pouted and sighed.

"What's up with you? You've been out of it this whole week. Did something happen?" Roxas shook his head and forced a smile.

"Nothing. Just a bit sleepy." He wished that was the case, but it unfortunately was not. He wished he could talk about the issue to somebody, but that somebody was unavailable. Xion knew most of the things somewhat, but he _despised_ talking to her about anything related to the Keyblade.

Yes, _despised._

Because she never had the ability to make him feel better about himself.

Roxas sighed and simply let Xion drag him to wherever she wanted, finding the whole thing a lost cause. However, from the distance, he recognized the familiar redhead. Not wanting to see her glare daggers at him for the nth time, he looked away and planned to just pass by without an encounter, but that wasn't on Kairi's agenda.

"Oi, Roxas," he let out a small sound of surprise when Kairi looped an arm around his as she passed by, successfully stopping him and slipping him out of Xion's grasp. He stared at her with round eyes as she gave him that glare of hers. "We need to talk. Now."

"Hey, what are you doing?" Xion butted in. _Like she always does_ , Kairi couldn't help but think.

"Talking with lover boy here. Don't worry, I won't take all his precious time. Maybe." Roxas was confused at the statement while Xion narrowed her eyes at Kairi. She then returned her attention to Roxas. "It's about Sora. Don't even ask what's up right here."

"It looks like he doesn't want to talk to you," Xion continued to interrupt before Roxas could say anything. Kairi snapped her eyes back at Xion and gave her a look of warning.

"I'm not talking to you, so just shut up. Let him answer for once by himself." Xion was slowly pissing her off the more she talked. When Xion tried to pull back Roxas, he surprised her by shrugging her off rather roughly. Kairi tried not to break into a snicker.

"She's right. Let me answer," Roxas said, startling Xion. He offered a small smile at Kairi and gave a small tilt of his head. "Shall we go talk then?" Without another word, Kairi dragged Roxas by the arm towards a place far away from the demon, leaving Xion to just stare at their backs in rage.

As Kairi dragged Roxas, she couldn't avoid the looks of curiosity of Riku and Axel. Seeing the two together sparked interest, especially when the two were supposedly in a war with each other—at least, according to Riku. So, they did something all curious people did.

They followed.

When Kairi deemed that she was far enough away from the witch, she stopped and turned around to face Roxas, who was awaiting what she had in store for him.

"How've you been, Kairi?" he started meekly, afraid that she was going to bite him. After all, it had been a while since they held a conversation. Kairi rolled her eyes and tried not to smile. Despite everything that had happened, she couldn't shake off Roxas's image of a nice guy.

Because he truly was a nice guy.

"I would like to catch up, but I would like to get to the point. I definitely feel like you know a lot more than me." Roxas sucked his lips in, clearly uncomfortable. With the mention of Sora earlier, he had an idea about what she was talking about, but he didn't just want to spill.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," he tried to lie, but Kairi shook her head.

"You don't have to try to keep it a secret. Sora has told me… _many_ things." Never in his life had Roxas ever felt so ashamed as he looked at the ground and shuffled his feet.

"So you know everything, huh?" he let out with a crack of his voice. Kairi felt bad—she honestly did. She felt bad for cornering him like this and even more so for going around Sora's business, but she just had to. Trapped in his apartment, Sora was just going to let the darkness take over him, and Kairi wasn't going to just watch it happen without at least trying something.

Even though she wasn't involved with any of this complicated Keyblade situation, she strangely felt like she had something to do—maybe it was because she was, what Sora quoted, one of the only people he had ever told his secret to.

"What happened that night, Roxas?" she asked, all the forcefulness gone from her voice. When he failed to respond, she shook his arm. "Please. Maybe we could do something. Maybe we can try to fix it and—"

"There's nothing we can do to fix it. What's done is done," he said regretfully as he gently let down Kairi's hand. "I did what I could. I tried calling him the day it happened, but he failed to respond. I thought maybe he would be home when they did it, but clearly by his absence, he was not."

"Are you kidding me?" Kairi threw up her hands in frustration as she backed away from Roxas and started to pace around. "So you're telling me you can't do anything about it?" Roxas ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"I wish I could do something, but I can't— _oof._ " Roxas couldn't finish when Kairi suddenly jabbed a finger at his chest, rage clear in her eyes.

"Listen here, Roxas. I don't think you can say you can't do anything once you've done _something_."

"But I have tried to—"

"To what? Call him? Is that it? What you couldn't do before, you can't do now, can you?" That one stung Roxas more than it should've—she knew where to hit him where it hurt. But she couldn't help herself. Here were two people, while she was running her head trying to find the solutions to the mess, who just sat there and just _gave_ up. "You know, Roxas, after seeing Sora just cooping himself up his apartment without lifting a single finger, I thought you could do something about it. I thought that you would take this as the opportunity to, I don't know, somehow make things better between you two, but I guess I was wrong."

She had already known, deep inside, that Sora needed a push if he wanted anything to happen, but if no one was going to start anything, then what could be done?

"What do you think I could do, Kairi?" Roxas's voice was starting to raise, but Kairi knew it was out of anxiety. "With the state I'm in, I won't even make my dad budge by an inch! It has grown so much, his company. I have no power to—"

"When you're the one who made the mess, it's time for you to clean up the mess," Kairi hissed. "I know it's a lot too much for you to deal with right now, but at least try and show that you've done your best!" Kairi backed away and ran her hand through her hair, making it a frizzier mess. "But I see where you stand right now. If that's the path you're choosing again, then fine." Seeing that one of her only hopes wasn't what she expected him to be, she left him without a word. Roxas clenched his fists into balls as he thought about what went wrong all those years ago.

 _"Um, Dad?" He looked nervously at his father, whose eyes were shining as he looked at all the papers that Roxas had given him a week ago. "Even though I said that I worked on it… Sora also—"_

 _"What are you bothering with me this time, boy?" He winced at his father's harsh tone and tried again. "I already told you that you've done a good job. You've done a really good job with this. Just let your dad figure everything out, okay?"_

 _"But Dad, I feel like we should get Sora involved too…" Roxas's voice slowly trailed off when his dad shot his eyes up to meet his son's. Obviously, he didn't like what Roxas just said. He settled the papers down and clasped his hands together._

 _"And why do you say that?"_

 _"Because this is also Sora's work." Even though Roxas's guilt was already eating away his soul for doing something so horrible to his cousin, it didn't stop him from also trying to maintain credit for the work that he took. However, it didn't make him stoop low enough to completely exclude him in whatever his dad was planning. "So, if you're planning on doing something with this, I think we should talk to him—"_ _ **Slam!**_ _Roxas jumped when his dad suddenly slammed a hand on the table, instantly shutting him up._

 _"And your point is?" Mr. Hikari challenged as his unwavering gaze bore into Roxas. "I can see that you're telling me the truth now, that this isn't your work. I always knew." Roxas paled—he got found out. "But does it look like I care? I was about to cast a blind eye over it and just say that this, indeed, was our work and creation, but that's not going to work if you keep mentioning that insolent pest. Am I right?"_

 _"What are you talking about, Dad?" Roxas tried to smile, wondering if he was hearing right._

 _"Do you not have ears? You're smart, but not in here. It all comes from here, my son," Mr. Hikari pointed at his head, "Things aren't pretty the more you move up in corporate power. You know what I mean, right?" He closed the laptop at his desk and stood up from his chair. "We discovered a gem, Roxas, and we would be fools if we didn't take it within our hands. Sora? Who is that? Just the son of my dead brother. So what if this all of this is his? We're the ones who's going to make better use of it, so it doesn't matter. Roxas, be a good boy and make this a success with your father, okay? A foster kid isn't going to get in my way—not now, not ever."_

"Not now, not ever, huh?" Roxas mumbled. "Kairi!" Before she was out of sight, Roxas ran over to Kairi and grabbed her by the arm, stopping her in her tracks. Before she could question what was up with him, he spoke first. "I think we can do something, but something has to be solved first before we can even begin anything."

~.~.~

Sora stared at the white ceiling of his room. Many things should've circulated in his thoughts, but surprisingly, nothing really encompassed it. The initial shock had already worn off, only to be replaced with a sense of emptiness. Time had passed without him knowing it—he didn't even know what day it was. He only ate what online delivery could get him, but even that was mostly thrown away since he barely had an appetite to begin with. However, even though there wasn't much going on anymore within him, there was just one thought that was so oppressing.

 _Why didn't I see it coming?_

He should've known his uncle had another motive, just letting him have his own place to live in and paying his tuition. He should've known something was up the moment he left that toxic household. He was a fool, doing whatever he wanted while thinking that no one could ever discover his biggest secret. He was a fool alright, working in property his uncle owned! Sora had thought that he was already satisfied with the wealth that he had already accumulated from his stolen work; he would've never thought that his uncle was desperate for more. At the end, Sora was played the fool once again.

"Sorry, Dad." Sora looked at the only family picture they took many years ago at an amusement park—he couldn't really remember where it was nor the name of it—before putting it away in a drawer. "Sorry that it got taken away again."

Outside his door, Kairi wasn't sure how to approach him. She had tried to visit him before, but her doorbell rings went unanswered. Surely, just ringing the doorbell this time wasn't going to produce results either. Rolling up her sleeves, she prepared for the worse.

"Sora, I know you're in there!" She thumped her hand against his door, _hard._ She was going to make sure that he heard her, loud and clear, from every nook and cranny of his house. "You aren't going to escape my wrath this time!" Sure, she was being obnoxious, but if it's going to get him to get out, nothing was going to stop her. It was cold outside; surely, he wouldn't be too heartless to just leave her out there.

She was very, _very_ wrong.

Fifteen minutes had passed, and there were no signs of him coming out. Kairi even put her ear to the door to hear if there were any incoming footsteps. None. However, she knew that he heard her, which fueled her to continue her tirade until her arms fell off or until she nearly collapsed.

She didn't know how much time passed, but her efforts were rewarded when, finally, she heard footsteps—angry footsteps—clambering down the stairs and towards the front door. She immediately stopped knocking and stuffed her hands into her pockets to warm them up as she prepared to see him. With the swing of the door, a wave of warm air greeted her. That was the only pleasant greeting that she received. Looking up at him, she was met with his wrath at full force as she stared at his infuriated eyes. Her heart slightly raced both out of fear and excitement for not seeing him for a while, but it was mostly out of fear.

Clad in a gray sweatpants and black sweater, Sora looked very cozy at home. Throughout the week, he had kept up his hygiene with showers, but other than his presentable outside appearance, the look in his eyes was something she did not like at all. Void without any feeling, he simply shot daggers at her out of his eyes.

"How annoying can you get?" he spat menacingly, startling her a bit. He didn't seem to care about the cold state she was in as he turned around and went back towards the stairs. Taking that as a sign that she could come in, she tentatively stepped inside and followed him. Remembering why she was here in the first place, she climbed the stairs after him.

"Sora, please don't be like this and come out of your apartment. You haven't been out of it since last week," she started. Sora ignored her as he headed towards his door. She was getting kind of scared when he refused to acknowledge what she was saying, but she continued anyway. "I know that you're going through a hard time—fuck, I shouldn't even call it a hard time because that's an understatement—but nothing's going to be solved if you just stay here." When he opened the door to his room and took a step in, it only took Kairi one foot in his door for him to explode.

All of a sudden, without her expecting at all, Sora grabbed her by the arm with one hand, slammed the door closed with the other, and pushed her down onto his bed. She let out a small sound when she felt the pressure of his body on top of her as he held her down.

"You're so worried about me, aren't you?" he half-growled, half-whispered. "I don't know, Kai', but I think you should be worried about yourself more." Kairi widened her eyes. "Look at you, just waltzing into a grown man's home like it's your own. You don't have any caution at all, do you?" Scared, Kairi looked at the empty smile he was giving her, a bad feeling swirling at the pit of her stomach. "I was planning to just leave you alone, but the moment you stepped into my room, you were asking for it."

"Sora, what's with you? I know you aren't like this." She tried to get him off. However, he was one heavy guy.

"What's with _you_? Literally punching my door for almost half an hour for my attention. Well, here you go—you got it. Didn't know you liked me that much." Kairi embarrassingly and shamefully flared up, but she was angrier if anything else. Who knew his personality could do a one-eighty flip and become so dark just like that. Remembering how Riku mentioned Sora going through a similar phase in high school, she couldn't help but be disappointed that it was happening to him again.

"I thought you were better than this," she hissed. "I didn't think you would coop yourself up like this, being a little whiny brat that just got his toy stolen." She did a prayer at the back of her mind that he wouldn't get too angry—she just really wanted him to just snap out of it and just _listen_ to her. His eyes flashed dangerously the moment she said that.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?" She pushed him off and grabbed the hem of her sweater. With one swift movement, she pulled it over her head, revealing the black bralette she was wearing from underneath. The angry expression Sora had was quickly replaced with one of surprise as he grabbed her sweater and tried to cover her up. A faint blush quickly spread through his cheeks. "What in the world are you doing?"

"Wasn't this the damn mood you were setting?" she snarled, slapping his hand away. Inside, she was glad he was getting back to his senses. "Holding me down on your bed and spitting fire at me, wasn't this your intention in the first place?"

"Wait, I didn't really mean to—"

"Fucking just grabbed me out of nowhere and—"

"Okay, I'm sorry, just put your clothes back on." He tried again to take the sweater out of her hands, but she stood up from the bed, took it, and whipped him with it instead.

"Here I was, so concerned about you this whole week, but instead, I'm treated like this!"

"Kairi, will—"

"No, I will not unless you fucking listen to me!" She continued to hit him with her sweater, actually a little bit angry at him. "Instead of trying to do something about your situation, you're just letting it consume you. Why don't you just get up and _do something_ instead of getting a fucking personality change? What, if another girl came here, would you do the same?"

"I'm sorry, Kairi, I get it, so can you—"

"Are you going to listen to me?"

"Just put on—"

"Are you going to _fucking_ listen to me?"

"Okay, I'll listen!" Kairi stopped her barrage of attacks, heaved a breath, and pulled her sweater back over her head. Sora sat cross-legged on his bed, a slightly guilty expression resting on his face. _That's right, bitch._ Kairi couldn't believe she just did that, but she was going to have a self-reflecting night another time—there were more important matters to deal with.

"First, can we get out of your stinking apartment? You need fresh air—pronto." Sora didn't meet her eyes as he grabbed his keys off his counter. Sure, he calmed down, but she had a feeling that he was still going to be uncooperative. _Roxas, I'm doing a lot for the both of you._

~.~.~

Roxas tapped the pencil on his head as he tried to plan it all out. Everything had to be perfect, or else a slip-up could ruin it. Sitting in the library on a weekend, he figured that it would be the place where he could focus the most. Clearly, he couldn't do this thinking back at his home.

"Roxas, what are you doing here on a weekend?" He looked up and gave a small smile towards Xion. It wasn't a surprise to see Xion; she was always at the library helping out.

"Just doing stuff." He naturally closed his laptop so that she wouldn't see what was going on. However, she had the keen eyes of a hawk. "Can you watch my stuff for me? I'm going to go to the bathroom." Xion smiled.

"Sure thing." The moment he disappeared, the smile on her face was wiped off before she looked over his stuff. Hearing the vibrations of his phone that he had left on the desk, she quickly took it to see what was going on. Typing in his pin code knowingly, what she saw did not make her happy.

 _roxas, i got him out of his darn apartment…things are looking good right now so hopefully everything will work out. meet up later to discuss if sora agrees!_

~.~.~

"Fuck no." Kairi winced when Sora slammed his cup of coffee on the table rather harshly. "Kairi, what the hell have you been doing behind my back?" When he said that, she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for betraying him.

"I know that you don't like him, but if anything is going to change, we need him, Sora."

"I don't need anything," he hissed back. "Why are you so damn persistent? Look, I only came out here because it's you," if they were under normal circumstances, she would've felt special, "But I don't want to talk to you if you're going to talk about _this_. Stop snooping your nose under things that are not your business." Kairi would lie if she said that that didn't sting her a bit, but that wasn't going to stop her.

"I know it's not my business, but _Sora_ ," he refused to look her in the eyes, "Are you really going to let this happen to you?"

"It happened once, so I'm pretty much immune to it." Kairi nearly spat out her drink.

"Yeah, right. We got strong boy with heart made out of steel here." Sora gave her a glare.

"You're really annoying today."

"Whatever it takes for you to be reasonable."

"Reasonable about what? Kairi, what are you trying to make me do here?" He was beginning to get irritated, but Kairi wasn't going to stop—not anytime soon until he finally got it into his head. "You're really hitting a sensitive area that you don't understand, so don't even try."

"At least I'm trying, unlike a certain somebody," she shot back.

"I already didn't want to do anything, but I _definitely_ do not want to do anything with the person who started this fucking mess in the first place? Whose side are you even on?"

"I'm not on anyone's side." If Sora felt hurt, he did a good job at not showing it. "Because that's not the point. The point is—"

"The point is," he interjected, "is that both you and me, cannot do shit, and you, young miss, need to shut up." The moment he said that, Kairi began to question what and why she was doing all this for. Slamming her own cup of coffee on the table, she stood up, effectively making the chair screech from beneath her. Sora simply stared at her, having gotten used to her short fuses.

"I'm doing this for you, Sora."

"And I have no idea why you are."

"Because I'm worried about you!" She didn't stick around to explain any further; they were already getting a lot of attention in the café. In desperate need of fresh air, she pushed her chair in and stormed out of the café, leaving Sora to just stare at her shrinking back. Knowing that he was going to have to find her anyway to drive her back, he cursed underneath his breath and went after her.

"Kairi," he called out. He jogged a bit to catch up to her and pulled her back by the arm, which she roughly shook off.

"Don't follow me, you jerk."

"I don't want to go on a wild rabbit hunt later," he muttered.

"Go on a wild rabbit hunt then. I can't believe that talking to you can be so damn tiring! You're seriously asking me why I'm stretching this far? Because I'm worried about you—we're worried about you! Riku and Axel have always been worrying about you, before and now." The mention of Riku and Axel seemed to affect him as he tightened his jaw. "We feel helpless just watching you degrade, but at least I know the reason why! I hope you know what kind of feelings they're having right now, seeing their best friend in this state _again_. We're here for you Sora, and we're going to do things for you, whether you want to or not. Instead of just giving up, I just want you to do something, but—!"

"Just shut up. You talk too much." Kairi definitely was not going to shut up. However, Kairi watched with slow eyes as he took a hand out of his pocket, snaked it behind her back, and grabbed her upper shoulder. With a gentle pull, Sora hugged her as he placed his chin on top of her head. "Way too much."

"H-huh?" Sora effectively shut her up as the fire in Kairi immediately got distinguished. _His sweater is really soft and warm._ Sora let out a sigh of defeat as he watched the birds at the distance fly off the tall tree.

"I'll think about it. Sorry for being stubborn." Kairi blinked.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Sorry about earlier too. Sorry about last week also. Damn, I have a lot of things to be sorry for." It didn't take Kairi too long to realize what he was talking about. "Your words eventually got through me, so don't worry about it anymore. Just let me think about it."

"You're not lying right." Sora chuckled.

"Why would I lie? You're so passionate. That's what I like about—uh," he caught himself before he said something he would not like to say out loud yet. Luckily for him, Kairi was in space as she admired the fact that Sora was taller than he seemed. "Anyway, I'll think about it. It's a lot more complicated than you think it is, so." Kairi nodded.  
"Okay."

* * *

So instead of studying for my finals that are in less than 2 weeks, I wrote a chapter instead :))))))) #priorities Thanks for continuing to read this! Comments are very appreciated-they make me write faster *wink wink* A WRITER HAS TO GET MOTIVATION FROM SOMEWHERE XD If I didn't get any readers, I wouldn't be continuing at all so :) BECAUSE LIFE IS SO BUSY. Hope you guys like this chapter!


	20. Chapter 20

Axel rolled his sleeves up, ready to pound the hell out of Sora's door. No, he wasn't going to remain passive any longer—it was time for Axel's heavy-duty action if Sora was going to spill anything. Riku stood by the sideline, trying not to cringe at how fired up the flame-head was. All he wanted to do was attempt to talk to Sora again after three more days of waiting, but Axel had another plan in store. Riku has known Sora for quite a long time—brute force wasn't going to get them anywhere. If anything, Sora would simply just retaliate back.

"Axel, how about calming down for a—"

"No! No more nice-guy Axel!" he roared in some sort of battle cry. "This little ass better not shut the door on us again, or else he's going to get some of this—"

 _Creak._

Right when Axel was about to punch Sora's door, the door had opened, revealing a Sora who was staring at them with confused, blinking eyes. Clad in a pair of black skinny jeans and a Twilight University sweater, Sora took a step back from Axel, not liking the fist he had up in the air.

"Hi," Sora said with slightly narrowed eyes. "What are you guys doing?" It was as if just the sight of Sora was enough to scare him, for Axel quickly put his hands behind his back and stood behind Riku for protection. _What happened to all that firepower?_ Seeing it as safe, Sora stepped out of his apartment and closed the door, making sure the door was locked—not that it mattered anymore anyway. "Why are you guys here?"

"You okay now, Sora?" Riku tried, a bit surprised that he wasn't looking as dark as last time. Axel cleared his throat and stepped away from Riku.

"Where have you been? How dare you close the door on us last time!" Sora simply sighed in response to both of them and took out his keys. Pressing a button for his garage to open, Sora walked past them and looped around to go towards his car. Axel and Riku followed close behind, not really sure on how to approach Sora—he wasn't being too hostile for once.

"I'm going to go somewhere. Wanna tag along?" Sora nonchalantly announced as he unlocked his car. Riku and Axel stared at him with open mouths. His eye twitched, not liking their reaction. He wasn't some sort of alien or anything. "So, do you want to or not?"

"We'll go, we'll go!" Riku stammered, and he immediately went to the back while Axel hopped into shotgun.

None of them said a word as Sora drove to who-knows-where—Axel and Riku didn't dare to question. After ten minutes, they were confuzzled to see him just stop in front of the girls' dormitory, questions swirling in their heads. In the distance, they could make out the familiar redhead and blondie coming towards their way. Naturally, Kairi opened the door and hopped right on in next to Riku as Namine came in second.

"Oh, Riku and Axel, you're here too. Sora, I thought you said you were almost here thirty minutes ago."

"At least I came," he snapped back as he put the gear into drive mode, causing Kairi to roll her eyes and cross her legs. Axel and Riku shot each other a look, communicating through their eyes their utter most confusion as they just sat there wondering what was going on. Namine and Kairi seemed to be aware of what was happening as they lazily just looked out the window.

"So, are we having a party or what?" Axel nervously joked, unable to contain his curiosity anymore. Sora gave another sigh as he stopped at a red light and ran a hand through his spikes.

"We can call it that," he muttered. He didn't sound happy.

It didn't take very long for Axel to recognize the way they were going on. At first, he thought it was just a mere coincidence, but when Sora took a certain turn into a certain neighborhood, his heart nearly jumped out of his throat. It took Riku a little bit longer to recognize the path, but when he did, he was no different from Axel.

When they arrived, none of them even had the chance to speak as a familiar blondie suddenly burst out of the doors and rushed out towards them. Namine let out a small yelp in surprise when he quickly opened the door, squished all three of them as he sat down, and closed the door.

"Sora, when I said pick me up, I didn't mean right in front of my house!" Roxas exclaimed; it would've been disastrous if his parents saw. He didn't seem to realize that there wasn't enough space in the back for the four of them as he squished up against Namine—he was too flustered to notice just yet. Sora stared steely eyes at him through the rearview mirror.

"Well, you should've freaking told me that earlier," he snapped for a second time as he quickly drove away.

"Before you get into your attitude too much, how come there are six people in a five-seat car?" Kairi interrupted, definitely not liking the lack of space. That snapped Roxas out of it, for when he saw how close he was to Namine, he freaked out and blushed as red as a tomato.

"I'm sorry I don't have a damn van or something. Buckle up and duck your head when a cop comes or something."

"God damn, Sora, your mood is beyond sour this morning, isn't it?"

"I am so fucking confused," Axel stated loudly, barely able to process the people who were currently in the car in one space. He looked with ballistic eyes at Roxas through the side mirrors, who simply gave a sheepish smile.

"I didn't know Riku and Axel were going to come."

"Yeah, me neither, but life likes to play the fate card," Sora muttered as he zoomed away from the neighborhood and off into the freeway.

 _~Two days ago~_

"Sora, get up." Sora let out a groan when Kairi started to hit him with his own pillow. He had told her that he was going to go take a shower after he had washed up, so she believed him and waited downstairs. However, when she felt like he was taking a tad bit too long, she went upstairs to see what was up, only to see his sleeping form again. "Dude, are you seriously going to do this?"

"Do you live here or something?" he complained as he faced away from her. "You keep invading my house and making me do things I don't want to do."

"You're the one who let me in, stupid jerk, and you agreed three days ago! Don't go back on your word now." Kairi thought he was acting kind of cute, just snuggling underneath his blanket to escape her wrath, but it wasn't time to be cute right now.

"You're the only person who would dare to go into my room like this. If it was anyone else, I would've already cut them like sausages." There were many times where Kairi wondered where he got these insults from. "Go away, give me another ten minutes!"

"You said that thirty minutes ago, get up!" She stopped barraging him with hits from his pillow and started doing it the hard way. She pulled the blanket off of him, earning another groan from him. Surrendering, he got up and swung his legs over his bed; he was still groggy. Rubbing his face with both his hands, he wondered when he decided to go along with this atrocious idea of hers.

"Kairi, you are something else."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." She let out an indignant _hmph_ , taking it as an insult, before looking at the mess on top of his head. Without a thought, she took a step towards him and tried to fix his hair, surprising him a little bit.

"I've never seen your hair like this before. How do you manage to fix this mess before going to class?" As she ran her fingers through his silky brown hair, Sora tried not to let a sound slip out of his mouth; it felt really good having someone's hands in his hair.

"I just do," he muttered as he reveled in the feeling. However, he quickly became disappointed when she suddenly pulled away, but he didn't show any indication of it. Kairi awkwardly backed away from him and slipped outside through the door, earning a confused look from him.

"Shower already!" and with that, she shut the door. She leaned her back against it and covered her red face in embarrassment.

 _What are you doing, Kairi?_ She belittled herself. _It almost felt like we were… a couple._ She shook her head of the incredulous thought; it wasn't time to daydream stupid things. After all, she doubted he had the same thoughts and feelings as her. After her confession, things were awkward for a few days, but it wore away as if it never happened in the first place. Well, she wasn't particularly angry—a lot of shit literally just went down on Sora. However, she figured that he would want things this way, and if he wanted it that way, she would comply—just being by his side was enough for her. Anything more would be a bit unrealistic.

 _Besides… he still likes_ _ **her**_ _._ Sighing at the thought, she left to go downstairs.

In the shower, Sora leaned his head on the wall as hot water ran down his back. Closing his eyes, he shamefully thought about what the hell he was going to do to her if she kept entering his room like that and felt heat swirl at the pit of his stomach. It was as if that girl didn't know what the definition of "living alone" meant.

He banged his head onto the shower wall real hard to snap himself out of it. _When the fuck did you ever think like this, Sora Hikari?_

Downstairs, Kairi was wondering what the heck he was doing up there. When he done, he went downstairs, where Kairi was already waiting near the front door.

"Took you long enough," she muttered as she opened it and exited.

"Feisty," he said under his breath before he followed her out and into his car.

Sora was dreading the meet-up, wishing that he didn't have to do this, but fast forward twenty minutes and he already found himself sitting in front of one of the people he ultimately despised the most in a library farther away from the university's.

"You actually brought him, Kairi," Roxas said softly, amazed at the fact that Sora wasn't glaring death at him for once-well, the animosity was still there, but it was definitely better.

"Yeah, dude, you think I wouldn't?" Kairi raised a brow. Roxas shook his head and smiled at her before nervously looking at Sora. Before he could utter a polite greeting, Sora coldly cut him to it.

"So what do you want? What do you plan on telling me after you stole my shit for a second time?" Kairi pinched his thigh. It hurt, and he took a larger intake of breath than normal, but he didn't show any pain. He still kept his straight face. The blonde guiltily looked at his water bottle and sighed.

"I tried calling you."

"Great, like that did anything."

"Sora, if you don't put a stop to your fucking attitude, I will literally drop kick you," Kairi hissed, seeing that this wasn't the first time she saw him act so volatile towards Roxas. "If you want to work things out, then act like a civilized being capable of regular speech." Both Sora and Roxas gaped at her, surprised at how venomously she said that towards him. She was a bit surprised herself, for she cleared her throat, crossed her arms, and looked somewhere else, signaling for them to continue their talk. Roxas wondered how much control Kairi actually had over Sora, whether the both of them were aware of it or not.

"How long?" Roxas blinked.

"How long what?"

"How long did you guys know?"

"My dad," he emphasized, as if separating himself from whatever his father was doing, "already had a hunch way before." Confirming his beliefs, Sora clasped his hands over the table and sighed.

"And I played right under his trap," Sora muttered. "Is that why he wanted me to move out?"

"Kind of. At first, it was just to get you away—my mom had, uh," Roxas didn't want to say it so blatantly, but Sora had no problem doing so.

"Yeah, I get that she fucking hates me. Go on." Roxas felt even guiltier.

"Long story short, he found it kind of odd that you were a bit compliant. You just kind of left. Then he figured you had something else up your sleeve, so he waited for a few years before he did what he did. It wouldn't be a problem anyway, since it was his property; he could do whatever he pleased with it, even if it meant breaking in. I tried talking him out of it, but—"

"I don't care what you tried to do or not do," Sora bit back. "Just tell me the important stuff."

"Sora—"

"I'll never forgive you. You're the only reason why I'm like this in the first place. Does it feel good to bask in someone else's glory? I told you before, I'm never going to—fuck, Kairi." He gave her the mean eye when he felt her pinch his thigh again. He then realized why she wasn't leaving to give them some privacy—she was the filter to his damn mouth. She returned his look with a look of her own, which effectively shut him up. "I never knew your dad was so greedy."

"I didn't either," Roxas admitted shamefully. "I thought he would just leave you alone after achieving what he has, but he just wanted more. More to expand, and more to gain." Sora sighed and drummed his fingers against the table, letting some of it absorb in.

"So what?"

"Hm?" Sora raised a brow, not amused.

"What do you mean, 'what'? We're not here to socialize and have cake and tea. What else you got to say?" Roxas uncomfortably moved in his seat and shifted his gaze towards Kairi, who met his blue eyes with her own. She blinked and did her head tilt.

"What?" Before Roxas could answer her, Sora did for him.

"She knows almost everything, so just spill to your heart's content." Sometimes, Roxas felt intimidated at Sora's ability to read the mood and read his mind. He was surprised that he had opened up to Kairi when he never opened up to anyone else before and inwardly smiled.

At least someone was there for him.

"I would start explaining, but I feel like it wouldn't do much."

"Why is that?" Kairi asked, starting to be afraid; they were meeting up for a reason.

"We need more manpower. The three of us can't—"

"Who ever said that I was part of this?" Sora growled, stopping the pace they were heading towards. "Let's get everyone's opinion on whatever we're going to do first before jumping ahead."

"What are you talking about, Sora? I thought you were in to finally do something."

"Do you think I can just jump on a boat and just row, especially with this guy?" He took a moment to glare at Roxas. "I can't just easily go along. I'm sorry, but I'm literally _traumatized_ , whether I look like I am or not." Kairi bit the bottom of her lip as she tried to say something back. She knew Sora wanted to do something about it, but he didn't know where to start. She couldn't quite understand him completely, but it must've taken a toll on him to get his stuff stolen a second time by the same person.

"How about this? Let's meet up and discuss when we actually have more people."

"Who are these 'people'?" Roxas laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

"That's what I would like to know too."

"Would Namine help?"

"H-h-huh?" Kairi shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

"I have a hunch that we could need her."

After they somewhat wrapped it up, they left the library with the grouchy Sora who was muttering incoherent words underneath his breath. Kairi was getting afraid of him and opted to just stick by Roxas's side as they walked towards the parking lot.

"Sorry about that bag of toxicity behind us," Kairi said. "He needs work." Roxas laughed, finding it amusing.

"Don't worry, it's actually not as bad as the other times before. It's kind of refreshing, seeing him like that."

"Will you be refreshed too once you see my sister again?"

"Ugh, Kairi, will you stop it?" Roxas said in a higher-pitched voice. Not knowing where to shove his embarrassment, he just settled to shaking her shoulders as he walked behind her. Kairi laughed hysterically, finding it as never-ending fun to just make fun of Roxas.

Behind them, Sora's eye twitched as he watched the two of them do _whatever_ they were doing with each other. For the nth time, he asked himself when the hell they got so close. He got seriously ticked when Roxas suddenly ruffled her hair, a faint blush staining his cheeks. Kairi wasn't any different as she glowed while laughing.

 _She doesn't look like that when she's with me_.

When they reached Roxas's car first, Kairi waved goodbye and returned back to Sora's side. For some reason, his mood was even worse if she was reading him right.

"I feel like you shouldn't worry about Roxas," she said, wondering if that was the problem. "I don't think he'll betray you this time."

"Whatever. Get in the car," was all he said once they reached his car. Kairi sighed before hopping on in.

~ _Present~_

"Roxas, you have one fat butt," Riku groaned as his left arm pressed against the door.

"I'm sorry," Roxas squeaked as he plastered himself to the other door for other reasons. Kairi not to laugh; Namine was literally giving him a hard time with just her presence. Namine on the other hand seemed to be calm about it, but she knew her sister well—she wasn't calm at all, considering the fact that the last time they talked was fire.

"Am I glad that I called shotgun," Axel muttered, thankful for the space.

"Roxas has a fat butt? What about you?" Kairi grabbed Riku's muscular upper arm and gave it squeeze, earning a hiss of pain from him. "These hulking things are literally taking half of our space right now."

"Holy fuck, Kairi, you have the vice grip of a damn snake," Riku complained as he swatted her hand away. Kairi simply laughed, but her laughter was cut short when Sora suddenly did a sharp left turn. All four of them flew to the other side, with Roxas yelping in surprise at the farthest end.

"Sorry," was all Sora said. He didn't sound too sorry. If Kairi didn't know any better, she would've thought he did it on purpose. _What's with his attitude again?_ Axel tried to suppress his grin.

 _Gosh, Sora, you sure make it obvious._

"Stop giving me that creep stare, Axel."

After twenty more minutes of driving, they all found themselves in the woods near the supposedly-haunted Old Mansion.

"Why the fuck are we here in the middle of the woods?" Axel couldn't help but curse. He was starting to get the heebie-jeebies.

"This is the only place where we can assure there are no people," Roxas explained. "It would be kind of bad if people saw us together in public."

"That mansion over there is kind of giving me the creeps though. Are those unicorns I see?" Kairi questioned as she peered through the thick trees.

"Probably 'cause it's haunted," Riku offered. "Or so they say. We should explore it together some day, how about it?"

"No thanks."

"And why would it be bad to be seen in public with us?" Axel said, bringing back the topic. "Don't tell me… you're actually _ashamed_ of us?" He let out a dramatic gasp, feigning hurt. Roxas shook his head.

"Not you. Us." Roxas pointed a finger towards him and Sora, who simply had his arms crossed as he stared at the Old Mansion. He _really_ looked like he didn't want to be here.

"Let's do what we gotta do here," he said as he stepped towards everyone, naturally forming a circle within all of them. "It's freezing; I don't want to stay here too long."

"Okay, you guys are not explaining anything to us," Riku complained, overwhelmed with the group of people he was with—it was truly an unlikely group. "What's going on here? Are we forming a gang or something? I should be the one looking confused, not you, Roxas."

"Oh, it's just that, I don't know… I don't want to be rude or anything," Roxas shifted his feet against the thin layer of snow, revealing the brown dirt from underneath, "but why are you here then?"

"I didn't say anything to them yet," Sora admitted. "But I guess I should now, shouldn't I?" He glanced at Kairi fleetingly before clearing his throat awkwardly. Kairi smiled knowingly—he's finally willing to open up. Riku and Axel looked at everyone around them—they seemed to know what was up. Heck, they stared at Namine more—what in the world would she know? Axel threw his hands up in the air.

"The air feels tense. C'mon, hit us with that moola. What's up?" All eyes suddenly laid on Sora, who was a bit surprised—he wasn't expecting to say it himself. Sighing as he rubbed the back of his head, he finally laid it flat on the table.

"You know the Keyblade and stuff? Yeah, that's all mine."

"Huh?" Roxas, Namine, and Kairi literally stared at him—that was not a good way to phrase it. Sora bit his bottom lip, and it was then that they realized that revealing this secret of his wasn't as easy as he made it appear to be.

"Keyblade. Creator. Me." As if to prove his point, he pointed a finger at himself. "Sora Hikari."

It was then that both Riku and Axel lost their shit.

 _~Ten minutes later~_

"So, you're saying that all that amazing stuff I see on TV, that is all your idea?"

"It was more like my dad's, but I developed it more, yeah."

"But your uncle, aka Roxas's dad, somehow got his hands on it?"

"Yeah, _somehow_." Sora spared Roxas the humiliation.

"And now this team is going to somehow take back what's rightfully yours?"

"Okay, I'm not sure about that, but I think that's the road we're heading towards." Riku and Axel had too much to bare as their knees collapsed. They both fell onto the ground and sat down, swirling their whole minds around it—their blonde best friend wasn't what they thought he actually was, and their other best friend was what they didn't think he actually was, if that made sense at all. All the pieces fit together, from why Sora was always the nerd that shut himself up in his room in high school to his sudden personality change along the road. At first, they were hit with shock and surprise, but after that, disappointment and slight anger replaced them. Axel especially felt this as he looked at everyone who was present.

"Why are we one of the last people to know?" he glared at every single one of them (although, more towards Namine and Kairi), "when did you guys know. Answer me."

"Late December," Kairi said nervously. Axel was intimidating when he wanted to be. Namine shifted at her feet—boy, did she feel out of place.

"Somewhere around fall quarter. Not through Sora directly though." She raised a measly finger at Roxas. "He kind-of-kind-of-not told me."

"Okay, yeah, Sora didn't really tell-me-tell-me either," Kairi butted in, hoping to make it better. "I just found out."

"And I knew since he was—"

"Okay, Roxas, you don't need to answer," Axel growled. He then directed his stare towards Sora. "And you never told us?"

"Axel, don't get mad," Riku tried. Inside, he felt a little betrayed too—he was one of Sora's first few friends and yet he never had a single _clue_ —but he was a bit more logical and understanding. He figured that Sora himself also had a heavy burden to carry with such a secret. "I get what you feel, but Sora must've had his reasons."

"Boy, do I feel dumb," he said. "While we were spinning around in circles, it seemed like all of you knew what was up already since the dawn of time." For the first time in a while, Sora outwardly expressed his guilt as he looked at Riku and Axel apologetically. _They seriously are angry, aren't they?_ With his mouth ready to form a lengthy apology, Sora was about to justify his reasons some more until Axel suddenly punched a fist into his hand. "So, when are we going to fuck shit up?"

" _What?_ " Everyone watched as Axel did a one-eighty in his personality. With a huge grin plastered on his face, he looked at everyone in the eyes.

"What, we're not here to have cake and tea, are we?" Kairi and Roxas swore they heard this somewhere. "What's the plan? We _do_ have a plan, right? Man, I'm excited. This is, like, straight from an action movie. We're definitely going to infiltrate some top-secret stuff, aren't we?" Sora gaped at him for a moment before smirking.

"You'll finally be the secret agent you've always wanted to be, Axel."

"Hell yeah. Tell us what we gotta do." Roxas smiled and cleared his throat.

"So, this is what we're going to do…"

After they finished their discussion, they all want out to eat some dinner. Of course, things were still a bit tense with Sora and Roxas, but they coped with it within the presence of their other friends.

As Sora's car drove away, they didn't notice how Xion emerged from one of the trees behind them.

~.~.~

 _Meet me behind the university_.

Sora grimaced as he read the text from Xion. It seemed like forever since he last heard from her. He still felt a tinge of hurt when he saw the name appear on his phone, but he knew better than to ignore it. Shoving his phone into his pocket, he stalked off towards where she summoned him.

"I didn't think you would actually show up, Sora!" Xion said with a giggle. Immediately upon his arrival, she went up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He froze and took a step away to put as much distance between them as possible within the grip she had on him.

"What do you want, Xion?" he nonchalantly demanded, showing no emotion in his voice. He tried to pry her arms off with one of his hands while the other held his textbook, but she wasn't letting go anytime soon. Her eyes stared deep within his, as if trying to put him under a trance.

"Sora, I thought you always regarded my words as something important to listen to," she purred, tracing a finger down his face. Back then, he would've shivered from her touch, but now he simply shuddered. "Do you hate me now or something? I didn't mean to anger you during Christmas Eve."

"Don't try to innocently sweet talk your way out of this," Sora snapped. "Let go of me."

"But Sora—"

"I said, _let go of me_." She immediately complied to his demand and unraveled her arms from his neck. The fake smile she plastered on her face instantly morphed into a frown.

"You're no fun anymore, Sora. Not with that attitude against me," she said with a small pout. She started to pace back and forth slowly in front of him. His eyes followed her form warily. "What changed you, Sora?"

"Nothing changed me. I just kind of snapped out of your witchcraft."

"What happened to our love for each other?" The crap that was spilling from her calculative mouth was readily pissing him off. "Why are you suddenly so mean to me? I care about you so much, and—"

"We all know you're stalker-crazy towards Roxas, so shut up and drop the act, Xion. Do you think I've been dumb the whole time I was with you?" Sora interrupted, seriously getting tired of her charade. "I knew all along what you were doing to me, but I just simply ignored it. I'm not going to do that anymore."

"Alright, I get it, you're over me." She stopped pacing and came back to stand in front of him. She poked a finger at his chest and smiled the smile that used to make him go crazy, "So I have one last request," and then it dropped, "stop fucking meddling."

" _You_ are the one who needs to stop meddling," Sora grabbed the middle of her shirt with a hand and pulled her towards him menacingly. He wouldn't stoop so low as to hurt a girl like her, but he had to vent out his anger somehow. "What are you telling me to stop meddling in? Meddling in _my_ own business?"

"Just let it go and pretend that you never had anything to do with the Keyblade," she requested once more—she obviously wasn't going to stop until Sora dropped it. "It'll be better that way. Anything you do will be futile."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sora feigned cluelessness. However, inside, he was more worried about how the hell she knew that he was up to something. "But I think I have the right to think about the Keyblade or not from time to time, since, _I don't know_ , it's rightfully _mine_ to think about." She simply laughed as she roughly pulled his hands away from her.

"It was no longer yours the moment you lost it." If Sora said that one didn't hurt, then he would be lying. He had always known, deep down, that she didn't really care about him and his dad, but hearing it stated so plainly in words struck hard. "You said you wanted it to become something a lot of people would enjoy right? Thanks to Roxas and his dad, look at what it has become now!" As if emphasizing her point, she raised her arms to emphasize the world around her. "They are they reason why your _lousy_ idea become a thing in the first place."

"Now you better watch your fucking mouth, Xion," Sora nearly shouted. He shouldn't have held a restraint anyway—no one was here to witness whatever he had to scream to the world. "I don't think Roxas would ever look towards the way of a bitch like you." Xion's eyes flared.

"Sora, Sora, Sora, you little, little _fool_." She grinned as she tilted her head towards the side at him. Every time he stepped back, she stepped forward. "I think you should be saying those words to yourself." Sora had no idea what she was talking about or what in the world she was planning on doing when she pushed him against the wall behind him. "Don't be too mad, dear."

And she kissed him.

His books immediately fell onto the ground as his hands flew to her shoulders in an attempt to detach herself away from his body, but she held onto him like super glue as she kissed him breathlessly.

"Xion, you fucking bit— _mmph!_ " he failed to finish his sentence between the time it took for her to detach their lips, turn her head to the other side, and smash it right back onto his. Right when he was about resort to brute force to separate himself from her, he heard more books fall onto the ground, and they weren't his. At the sound, Xion simply pulled away and licked her lips.

"Seems like we have company." Sora's eyes widened when he saw who was standing before them from the corner.

"S-s-sorry for interrupting," Kairi stuttered as she dumbly gaped at the two of them, trying to process what had just transpired between them. Sora shot Xion a look, who simply gave him a small smile. _She did it on purpose._ Sora wiped his mouth roughly with the back of his sleeve, feeling as if Xion had just invaded his mouth with every disease that existed in mankind. But before he could say anything, Kairi had already picked up her books and left.

* * *

Finished past midnight. Definitely has typos but will fix in the distant future ToT! Finished finals, but I have summer session, so updates will still not be frequent, but have no fear-I'm always writing! Especially after those E3 trailers (I lost my shit guys, completely lost it). I lost it even more when I went to the Kingdom Hearts orchestra concert in LA! IT WAS AMAZING AND I LOVED IT AND UGH I WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO SEE THE OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE! So excited about KH3. My heart isn't ready :))))

Anyway, tell me what you guys think with reviews! Thank you y'all for continuing to read this :'))))


	21. Chapter 21

"Kairi… are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're literally doing a headstand against the wall." Namine and Riku looked at her with concern as Kairi propped herself upside down against the wall in Namine's room. Riku had been in the way of her stomping towards the girls' dormitory and got dragged by force. Why, he didn't know. All she said was, "I need company." Unbeknownst to Riku, Kairi had always considered him as one of her close friends already.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Riku asked again. He knew that Kairi only got this strange whenever a huge problem was plaguing her mind. Namine had known this since the beginning of time.

"Yup, I'm okay," Kairi responded once more, her face getting a bit red from being upside down. "I'm just cleansing my mind and soul from evil thoughts."

"What?"

"No worries, man, no worries." Namine sighed and walked over to her sister. Grabbing her legs, she forced her to come back down, much to Kairi's dismay.

"Kairi, if you want to talk it out, let's talk it out. We're here to talk to you, not to watch you do a headstand for who knows how long, silly." With a huge sigh, Kairi sat up and crossed her arms. It wasn't really a thing she could readily talk about—it was too embarrassing. How could she say that she felt deep pain over what she saw today? However, she just had to swallow it; Sora had the right to do whatever he wanted to do with the girl he liked. Heck, why would he care about what _she_ had to say about it?

"No, I think I'll be over it over some grub. Everything gets better when you have food in your stomach. You pay, right, Riku?"

"Wait, what?" he made an "x" shape with his arms, "Kai', I'm broke." Kairi frowned.

"How can you be broke when you take those girls of yours on dates?"

"I'll have you know that I haven't been on a date since the beginning of fall quarter." Both Kairi and Namine gaped at him— _the_ Riku hasn't been with a girl since then?

"Is the world falling apart?" Namine joked. "What happened to heartbreaker-Riku?"

"Namine, I'm just getting rusty. Ever since Kairi entered my life, my standards just skyrocketed." With his infamous wink, he successfully made Kairi punch him on the arm. However, she knew what he was trying to do—he was just trying to make her feel better. Being around her sister since life and Riku since fall quarter, she knew they had the power to know when she wasn't feeling that well. She wished she could just get rid of the thoughts swirling through her mind, but that image of Sora and Xion together just plagued her.

Curse Xion—Kairi knew she did it on purpose when she suddenly texted her to come see her behind the university. No way did Kairi feel good about it, but she came just to see what she wanted. The last thing she expected was to see Sora and Xion just making out against the wall. Kairi's rational mind concluded that Xion probably did what she did just to take a stab at her—Kairi did not know how much Xion actually despised her—but the image of the two of them together was enough to override any reasonable feelings.

 _They sure were passionate though…_ She suddenly reddened at the imaginary scene of kissing Sora and covered her face to hide her embarrassment. Thinking that Kairi was down in deep within the blues, Riku rubbed the back of his head.

"I mean, I guess I could spare a few bucks."

"Yay!"

Feeling a lot better about going out with Namine and Riku to eat at some restaurant, Kairi never felt such a drop in her emotional rollercoaster before as she spotted Sora right outside the entrance of their dorm building. He was pacing back and forth before he spotted her and came up to her. He seemed to pay no attention to Riku and Namine.

"Kairi, let me explain," he immediately addressed, cheeks a bit flushed from the cold—how long did he stay out here? "You ran off before I could say anything to you."

"I don't think there's anything to explain though," Kairi said with a confused tone. She tried her best to sound normal, but it didn't really work when her voice cracked a little bit. _Why now?_ She swallowed and shook her head. "Really, it's okay."

"What's okay?" he said exasperatedly. Kairi didn't know why he looked so desperate to prove a point. "Now I know you're definitely misunderstanding something. I—"

"You don't need to explain anything to me," Kairi cut, not wanting to hear anymore from him. "It's not like you're obligated to explain anything to me about your…relationship."

"Holy fuck, Kairi, you weren't there for the whole thing, were you?"

"Why would I want to be there the entire time, watching you just make out with her?" She felt bad exposing him to Namine and Riku, who instantly adorned widened eyes, but she didn't care. Realizing the possible negative consequences of her actions, she shook her head again and pushed Sora away from her for a good distance. "Listen, I don't want to talk right now. Maybe later when—"

"I want to talk to you _now_ , or else I won't be able to stop thinking about you." Under normal circumstances, that would've sounded so romantic for her, but it was anything but at the moment. "You're making it so difficult. I wanted to talk it out alone, but I guess I'll just say it here. Xion forc—"

"Sora, enough." Sora was surprised when Riku's tall figure suddenly appeared in front of Kairi, half shielding her from him. Despite being a greater height than Sora, he was never more intimidated by the look Sora had in his eyes. "She says she doesn't want to talk."

"But—"

"I know you guys need to talk at some point, but maybe not now," he looked between the both of them, "Both of you are clearly influenced by a ride of emotions right now. Go calm your head, Sora, and Kairi will calm hers." _Thank you, Riku._ Sora ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Fine." They were surprised that he let it go so easily as he turned around and went off the other direction. Kairi let go of the breath she was holding and rubbed a hand against her cold face. _Right on time when we're supposed to execute the plan on Saturday._

Joining them to their dinner was Axel, who was excited at the idea of Riku paying—who wouldn't want a free meal? Feeling sushi tonight, Kairi gave Riku the directions to a certain sushi place that had relatively high ratings. With a huge sigh, Riku drove all of them.

"I don't know about you guys, but I feel a little bit nervous," Axel suddenly announced at the table they sat at. All their ears perked up.

"Why are you feeling that way? Do you got another test to fail or something?"

"I'm going to cut your ass, Muscle Bitch," Kairi nearly spat out her water. _My gosh, that's one funny nickname._ "But you seriously don't know what I'm talking about? Saturday, guys, Saturday."

"I am," Namine admitted shyly. "It's a little bit… overwhelming actually. To think that Sora's future actually depends on this. It's kind of heavy to hold." Kairi wondered what Sora thought about all this. Was he excited? Was he excited that maybe he could retake what was his? When she looked at the whole idea from an overview, she realized how little they were; what could a bunch of college students do?

"I just say 'yolo.'" Kairi raised an eyebrow at Riku, who simply just drank his water through a straw. "I mean, of course, we should be careful, since it's such an important matter for Sora, but Roxas and him are something way beyond us already. The main spotlight is them two—we're just helpers. Whatever happens on Saturday is going to depend mostly on them and whatever world they live in."

"You actually make a logical point for once," Axel sniggered. "Good job."

"Who do you take me for?"

"An idiot chicken butt."

"Why you little—"

As the four of them fooled around over the dinner table—it was mostly Riku and Axel as they played chubby bunny with sushi—Kairi forced herself to forget whatever happened today. It wasn't the time to get her own personal emotions mixed when such an important day was coming up.

~.~.~

"Roxas, you're representing me tomorrow," Mr. Hikari said over dinner. "Don't let me down." Roxas uncomfortable placed the broccoli into his mouth as he looked at the center of the dinner table. His mother joyously took a sip of wine from her class and smiled.

"What a big day for you tomorrow, isn't it, dear?"

"Definitely."

"You've made me so proud."

"Thank you." To him, all his responses sounded robotic, but to his parents, they sounded polite. Underneath, he was actually extremely nervous; he did all he could to look normal. His dad had the keen eyes of an eagle—he could sense when Roxas wasn't himself. But luckily, any nervousness would be seen as normal.

Since tomorrow was the banquet for his birthday.

"Do you have any friends coming tomorrow, dear?" Roxas nodded.

"A few. Of course, I invited Axel, if you remember him." Mr. Hikari chuckled at the mention of the flamehead.

"Of course. He is one that I just have to 'memorize.' Isn't that his phrase? He's a memorable boy, very peculiar." Even Axel's reputation of being quite strange was known to his father. "I'm excited to meet him again."

And the dinner continued with the small talks about the event that was going to happen tomorrow. However, throughout the whole time, Roxas just had a nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen, especially with the way his father kept looking at him.

The next day, when everyone woke up in the early morning, they knew that it was either today or never.

 _"So, this is what we're going to do, and hopefully it'll work," Roxas started. "I have a birthday banquet for my twentieth this weekend on Saturday. Of course, the main event is me."_

 _"Rich boy showing off, isn't he?" Riku joked. Roxas laughed nervously being continuing._

 _"Unfortunately, yes. I mean, it's just a birthday banquet in disguise; it's going to be filled with people I have no interest in talking to. It's just for my dad and his business partners, so nothing young about that. But because it's about me, I think it's the best time for me to reveal everything."_

 _"You make it sound so easy," Sora cut in. "Sounding a bit too optimistic. Based on what you've told me before, I don't think your dad is a fan of you being…_ _ **vocal**_ _about anything that isn't within the lines of what he wants you to say."_

 _"I mean of course, I'll go along with him at first, but the moment I start saying things, he can't really stop me, could he? I've built his trust over the years for a reason." Sora crossed his arms and tapped his fingers on his side irritably, signaling for Roxas to continue. "There's going to be a ton of people there. I don't really care what happens to me after, as long as things just get done."_

 _"Um, I don't want to ruin the mood we're driving here…" Namine said timidly, "But I think Sora's right. That sounds a little bit too…"_

 _"Easy," Kairi finished for her. "I mean, you're right. Once you say it, it's said, but something doesn't really settle that easily for me."_

 _"Well, we gotta try, right?" Roxas urged. "There isn't really a lot of chances where I'm vocal. I'm literally just a puppet."_

 _"I know this is a little off topic… but what happened to all the news about you inheriting the company just two months before?" Axel added. "What's with all that?" Roxas sighed and rubbed the back of his neck._

 _"I don't know why he suddenly decided that; he hasn't really told me yet. But that's going to be in the distant future—I want to make things right now, especially after what happened to Sora just a week and a half ago. Plus, even if we were to wait for that day to come, I feel like it'll be a lot more complicated… I just feel like it will."_

 _"So literally, our only plan is for Roxas to walk up there and suddenly announce to the entire world about me, and I come up and show them what's up?" Sora said, bringing back the topic at hand. "If it was that simple, why are we all here?"_

 _"Of course, I need support. What if they suddenly drag me off the podium? I need as much time as I can. Riku and Axel, you don't mind causing a ruckus, do you?" The two guys shook their heads. "Namine and Kairi… well I actually don't know what you guys should do. Just keep watch and maybe enjoy the party. You can be our eyes and you can signal Sora when it's a good time to come in, since most of us will be occupied."_

 _"Wow, how boring. But I do like free food. Is there free food?"_

 _"I would think so, yeah."_

 _"Then I'm okay."_

 _"Does this sound okay for now?"_

 _"Whatever, it's getting cold. Do whatever you want, Roxas. If it works, I'll pop in," Sora grumbled. "If not, I am definitely not going to crash the party. I don't think your dad would be happy to see my face around either, so."_

When it was around five, an hour before the banquet officially started, all six of them met up once more to summarize everything. All of them were dressed fancifully for the event. Kairi and Namine have never been to such a big event before, so they surely had fun finding an outfit for the night. While the four guys wore regular suits and ties, the girls wore dresses. Kairi had on a simple pink mini dress that hugged her waist quite comfortably while Namine wore a white strapless dress that brought out her blonde hair and blue eyes. Minus Sora, the guys were clearly ogling them.

"Never seen you wear something so girly, Kairi," Riku said with a low whistle. "Looking good." Kairi rolled her eyes and tossed her hair over to the other side.

"'Cause I never had the chance to."

"N-n-namine, you look really nice," Roxas stuttered, causing Kairi to turn around and laugh a silent laugh. _This is too hilarious_. Namine blushed lightly and cleared her throat.

"Thank you."

"Chop chop, no time to waste. Riku and Axel, you know what to do, right?" Sora gruffly said.

"Of course. Hey, dude, slacken up." Riku rubbed his tense shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. "We'll do our best." Sora sighed as he loosened his tie. Going inside his pocket, he took something out and motioned with a finger towards Namine.

"Don't lose this," he instructed. Placing it within her hand, Sora shared a look with her as Namine nodded her head. "You're the only person I can trust with this task, Ms. Double Major."

"Got it."

"Kairi." Kairi swallowed nervously when it was her turn for him to address her. "Keep a watch of things and make sure you text us if something is up."

"Gotcha."

"Roxas, the demo—Xion is not here, is she?" Sora asked, almost letting his mouth slip. Roxas raised an eyebrow, totally aware about what Sora was about to say, before sighing.

"She is." Kairi was a bit triggered by the mention of her, but it seemed like she wasn't the only one when Riku, Axel, and Sora showed signs of distress.

"Seriously, Roxas?" Axel exasperated. "Maybe it's a little bit too late to tell you, but—"  
"I've always known something was wrong with her, you don't really have to explain," Roxas clarified, scratching his cheek with a finger sheepishly. "But what else was I supposed to do?"

"Um, it's your birthday."

"Eh, it's okay. I mean, what can she do. It's fine, just let her be." Everyone knew that Roxas definitely did not know how devious Xion was and pitied the poor guy; someone needed to break it to him, and _soon_. He was just too nice to see it.

"New job for you, Kairi. Keep an eye on her," Sora instructed, having a bad feeling about it. Kairi rolled her eyes.

"It'll definitely be my pleasure to watch my crazy roommate." _And your ex-girlfriend._ Sora returned the dirty look Kairi was giving him and sighed—they needed to talk later.

"Alright. Let's do our magic. Try not to act suspicious."

While Sora stayed far out of sight from all the guests that were flooding into the ballroom of this high-class hotel they were at, Kairi, Namine, Axel, and Riku followed Roxas's lead towards the front of the line.

"Psst, it's okay to cut?" Kairi asked with a nudge to his side. Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"Dude, I'm the main thing here. Do you think I wait in line?"

"But we're—"

"Friends, so it's fine." As if to make his point, Roxas simply went to the front, where a space was made for him to pass through. "C'mon, let's go."

They were met with dazzling lights as they entered the room. A large crystal chandelier hung above their heads while two long tables lined parallel to each other had large amounts of food. A small group of musicians were playing classical music by the side while the other side stood the podium and stage. The scene was definitely something Kairi had only seen in movies.

"Well, I'll be damned. This is the first time you brought me to an event this glorious," Axel muttered as he surveyed the area. "But this is your birthday right. How come I see more old dudes than youngsters."

"I already told you—this is just a birthday in disguise. It's actually just a place for people to socialize and speak out of the future or whatever. Not that I'm interested. I don't think this world was meant for me. Well, it was never meant for me anyway," Roxas muttered the last part to himself, but everyone heard him anyway. Only Kairi knew what he meant by that. "For now, just enjoy whatever we have here until it's time. Yes, Kairi, just go eat."

"Yippee!" Kairi took Namine with her to ravish the food that was presented. Riku and Axel just stayed by Roxas the entire time for small chit-chat while his father kept an observant eye.

"Did not expect you two here. Having fun?" Kairi literally bled out of her ears the moment she heard the devil's voice and looked up to meet her eyes. Dressed in a black dress, Xion was across the table with a smirk plastered on her face. "You kind of don't belong here, though."

"And who says you are?" Kairi growled. Xion faked a gasp and shook her head.

"Sora would never look towards a brute like you. You might want to change."

"Roxas clearly doesn't want your presence near his," Kairi shot back. Any mention of Roxas successfully got Xion angered. Xion then turned her eyes towards Namine.

"You think he really, really likes you, don't you?" Namine took a step behind Kairi, a bit afraid of Xion. Their last encounter wasn't really the best. "Wait until he sees your disgusting innocent façade completely shattered."

"C'mon, Namine, let's get away from her. Being near her is like being near toxic waste." As she turned around, she didn't see the huge grin Xion had on her face.

"Whatever you're planning tonight, it's not going to work, so just give it a rest." Before Kairi could even question her about what she meant, she had already disappeared towards the direction of Roxas. Biting her bottom lip hard, Kairi released a huge sigh and took a plate from the side.

"Don't mind her. She possibly can't do anything here. It's fine," Kairi assured herself as she picked what to put on the plate. Namine patted her sister's back and smiled.

"Don't stress out too much. I think we'll be okay. I thought you liked shrimp?" Her sister questioned why Kairi completely avoided the dish with the shrimp. Knowing the glutton in her sister, Namine was completely freaked to see the shrimp untouched along with other dishes as they went down the table.

"Oh, I do. Erm," Kairi bit her bottom lip. "This isn't for me. It's for Sora, and he doesn't really like seafood. I'm guessing Sora's kind of hungry just being stuck in the car. I think it's going to be a while until Roxas is going to speak, you know?" Namine rolled her eyes and mocked a gag.

"How sweet. I'm sure lover boy will be happy."

"Oh, just shut up, Namine." A bit embarrassed by being called out by her sister, Kairi quickly but adequately placed a few more things she thought Sora would eat before exiting out the ballroom. She must've looked a little bit uncultured just bringing food out the ballroom, but she couldn't care less—she wouldn't want to starve inside a car either.

Sora was just in a middle of a nap with seat pushed back to the maximum and legs propped up on the dashboard when he was awoken by slight taps on the window. Seeing that it was Kairi, he unlocked the door and opened it wide enough for her.

"What are you doing?" he asked, voice deep with sleep. He was a little bit unprepared to be alone with her after what had happened two days ago. Kairi squatted into a fetal position on the ground so that she could see him better. Sora swung his legs over the seat and out of his car so that he could face her. With a pout, Kairi handed him the plate full of food, which he confusingly accepted.

"I'm just going to be the better person this time around," she muttered, looking to the side and away from him. Since it was indeed an important time, she could afford to chuck whatever issue they had between them and deal with it later. Sora blinked at her docile nature before him, which was rare, and tried not to pet her like a puppy.

 _Cute._

"Thank you," he said with a small smile. Looking at the plate full of food, he was pleasantly surprised that it had everything he liked; Kairi sure was observant of him and his eating habits.

"You must be pretty relaxed, since you're able to just nap the time away," Kairi mused, noting his earlier nap. Sora used the fork to stuff a meatball into her mouth.

"You must be lax too, considering that you still have the ability to tease me," Sora joked back. Kairi chewed the meatball and placed her chin into her propped hand.

"I'm anything but," she admitted. "This whole thing is kind of nerve-wracking." She opened her mouth when Sora continued to feed her, this time with spaghetti. At first, she thought he was being unusually gentle and doting as he kept feeding her, but after it got a little bit too much, she realized that he was also nervous and was just venting it out by stuffing her. "Sora," was all she managed to say as she faced away and tried to chew everything.

"Oh, sorry," he said, realizing what he was doing. He opened his compartment and handed her a few napkins, which she gratefully accepted.

"I got all this for you, you idiot," she laughed. "Why am I the one eating it?"

"Kairi, I'm scared," he suddenly blurted out. Kairi blinked. _What?_ His statement came out as a huge shock to Kairi. Sora Hikari, the cocky guy who was always reeked of confidence, suddenly admitted that he was _afraid_. His own statement seemed to shock him more, for he looked away. "Just kidding." Kairi's eyes softened; he wasn't used to expressing his feelings like this.

"You know, Sora," Kairi hesitantly placed a hand on his thigh, "It's okay to show your vulnerable side from time to time. No one expects you to be a rock all the time. If you weren't scared about today, I would question whether or not you were human." When Sora didn't look at her, she bravely took his hand into hers. "You know that, right?"

"What's lame about me is that for all these years, I didn't do anything not just 'cause I was powerless. I didn't do anything because I was too scared to do anything. I felt so alone in my cause," Sora admitted quietly but bitterly. "Having the opportunity to take everything back today doesn't change that fact." He then looked at her, blue eyes shimmering with emotion. "I don't know what I'll do if everything just ends up in failure. At first, I didn't think this plan was serious, but now that we're actually doing it, I'm feeling anxious. I'm actually a little bit surprised that I'm even out here."

"I think it's normal to feel that way, you know?" Kairi responded. "All those years, you painfully watched everything that kept you going just become something it wasn't. Then all of a sudden, without any warning, you're now in the position your younger self never thought you would be in. I think that's a lot of pressure in itself. I mean, I can't really understand one-hundred percent what you're feeling right now, but I'm sure it's a hefty lot." She laughed. "I can't imagine myself being the secret developer of the entire Keywielders industry."

"Woe me," he said in an attempt to lighten the mood. Kairi smiled.

"But deep breaths, okay? You're going to be fine, you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you're Sora Hikari."

 _You're just Sora Hikari, aren't you? That's who you are._

Kairi's words echoed within his mind, the words that made him feel a whole lot better that Christmas Eve. "Plus, things are different right now, what are you talking about?"

"Hm?"

"You have all of us," she gave another pout, as if offended by what he said earlier. "Riku and Axel are always behind your back, and I think that even though Roxas was the cause of all this, he really is trying to redeem himself. He's risking a lot for you too, you know. Namine doesn't really know you well, but she's also doing this for you, not for anybody else. We're all here for you, and we're all fighting for you and with you today, so don't say that you're alone anymore." She tightened the grip she had on his hand and gave him an assuring smile. "I'm here for you too. Always am."

Kairi wasn't sure if any of the things she was saying was appropriate, but she tried her best. Sora was always there for everyone, including herself. All those times where she was sad and all those times where she dealt with her own conflicts, he was always there to cheer her up and make her feel better; it was her turn to support him in his causes.

"Thanks, Kairi," he said softly, and took a deep breath in and deep breath out. He returned her grip and rubbed the back of his head with his other hand. "Thank you so much." Kairi coughed to clear her throat and shook her head.

"Of course."

"I'm still a little bit jumpy at the thought of failure though," he confessed. Kairi shook her head once more and flicked his forehead with a finger.

"Idiot. If we fail, then we just have to try again. The Keyblade will return to its destined wielder in due time." Kairi mentally cringed at how lame that sounded, but it successfully made Sora laugh, so it wasn't that bad.

"Sure." Sora checked the time on his phone and signaled with his head towards the hotel entrance. "Shouldn't you go back? I think it's time to watch things. Make sure you text me." Kairi saluted and stood up, legs a bit sleepy for squatting too long. She frowned at the small black spot that was on her dress from touching the ground before bending slightly down and giving Sora a smile.

"Roger, Captain." Kairi turned around to start heading back to the hotel, but Sora stopped her as he came out of his car.

"Wait, Kairi. You forgot something."

"Hm?" Did she even bring anything out? The last thing she expected when she turned back around was a warm embrace from Sora. His strong arms slipped underneath her arms and around her waist, effectively pulling her flush up against his chest. Kairi held her arms up awkwardly above the air, momentarily surprised at the action.

"I forgot to tell you that you look extraordinary pretty today," he murmured lowly, his hot breath caressing her ear. "I hope I'm not too late on the compliment this time." Kairi never wanted to separate from him so much before; she was scared he could hear her hammering heartbeat rage against him. Unable to utter a response, Kairi simply wrapped her arms around his neck. "After all this is over, I want to talk at the park right next to the hotel. Meet me out on the swings."

"O-okay." He let her go, turned her around by the shoulders, and gave her a little push on the back.

"Alright. Let's actually get to work."

At least another hour passed before it was time. Finally, the main event was to arrive.

"Namine, be careful, okay?" Namine gave Kairi a thumbs up and smiled.

Roxas bid his friends good bye as he headed towards the podium, where everyone was awaiting his celebratory speech. Behind him was a huge white screen, which started to project photos of him when he was younger. With a huge smile, he began.

"Thank you everyone, for being able to attend this huge event with me," he said automatically. "It's truly an honor to have so many people here to celebrate my twentieth birthday." A round of light applause sounded before he continued. "My father arranged a video of my younger days for everyone to see. It contains a lot of pictures and videos from my childhood up to now; I hope everyone enjoys!" As the video played, Kairi kept an eye on his father. She saw him whisper something to the person next to him before beginning to text Sora.

 _Roxas began his speech already._

He replied very quickly; what else was he supposed to do in his car?

 _Alright._

Kairi continued to keep watch around her as she watched the cute video that was being shown. Xion looked quite at peace as she stood alone by herself while Roxas's father looked up proudly at his son on the podium. Watching the video, she even spotted a few pictures of Sora, which was a delightful surprise. In those photos, he looked like what he was supposed to be—happy, cheerful, and joyous. Kairi didn't quite believe Riku's words when he said that Sora never used to be the way he was now, but now she did as she saw the pictures of his past self. His smile was big, and the way there was a twinkle in his eyes showed his glowing youth. She hoped that this type of Sora would return soon after this.

Another round of applause sounded throughout the room when the video ended and the white display rolled back up. With another huge smile—Kairi concluded that it was a forced one—Roxas laughed.

"That was kind of embarrassing to show, but whatever." She didn't know how, but Roxas was able to spot her and make direct eye contact with her. _The signal._ Kairi took out her phone to text Sora, but before she could, Roxas's interrupted speech caused her to look up.

"Before I go, I just want to say something import—wait, what are you doing?" Roxas turned away from the podium to face his father and two other men who were behind him. A few whispers surfaced among the crowd as father and son talked behind the podium and away from the mic. Kairi paled and rapidly texted Sora while Roxas dealt with his father. Mr. Hikari did not look happy. She then took a glance at Xion, who merely had a smile on her face as she watched the whole thing.

"Get him down," he instructed the two men, and within an instant, Roxas found both his arms linked with the men.

"Wait, why are you doing this? Let me go, I haven't finished what I was going to say," Roxas urged. There was no reason his dad was suddenly stopping him; he couldn't have known. How could he?

"I'm not going to let you ruin what I've built for years by your flimsy words. I was going to give you a chance and let you go up on the podium despite knowing what you were planning, but you failed me, Roxas," Mr. Hikari said menacingly. "Now be a good boy and _get down_ without any trouble, okay?" Roxas whitened as he looked at his father's eyes; _he knew._

"How?" was all Roxas managed to say.

"You can't fool me, son. What's the name of that friend of yours. Xion, is it?" Roxas couldn't help but curse out loud.

 _Mr. Hikari was watching the TV with his wife when his phone suddenly rang. Excusing himself for a bit, he went into the kitchen to answer whoever was calling; it was an unknown number._

 _"Hello, who is this?"_

 _"Hello, Mr. Hikari, I'm sorry for calling you at this time. I'm one of Roxas's friends, Xion." Mr. Hikari wouldn't have believed her if he hadn't recognized the name from somewhere. His son mentioned her name sometime in the past before. "I just really wanted to tell you that might concern you… Don't worry, I'll make it brief."_

 _"What is it?" He wasn't in the mood to deal with any children._

 _"I think you need to be wary of Roxas during his birthday banquet." Mr. Hikari frowned._

 _"And why is that?"_

 _"He's planning to expose you," Xion stated simply. "I don't know when they've started doing it, but Sora and Roxas has been meeting up lately. I wonder if you've ever noticed." Mr. Hikari did notice his son going out a little bit more frequently, but he had always believed him whenever he said he was just going out with friends. The mention of the name of his brother's son was enough to make his blood boil. Clutching the phone harshly in his hands, Mr. Hikari took all he could to not scream into the phone._

 _"Excuse me, what did you say? Explain a little bit more please."_

"You have such a good friend, looking out for you that way. She knew exactly what was good for your future," Mr. Hikari chuckled amusingly. "Is she here today? I would like to meet her."

"Dad, you can't do this," Roxas pleaded. It was no use trying to keep up the façade now. "Please stop."

"You, boy, are the one that needs to stop," Mr. Hikari hissed, tired of his son's foolish sense of justice. "I'm doing this for your best interest; I'm stopping you from digging yourself a hole in the future. Why can't you understand?"

"We need to stop this," Roxas started to lower his voice down to a mere half-whisper. "We need to stop doing what is wrong and start doing what is right." His father shook his head, rejecting everything Roxas was saying as nonsense.

"Everything you've been living in is all because our success. Think about the consequences of your actions before you speak. Where would you be without this?"

"I have, and I don't regret anything I've done to go against you and return everything to Sora!" Roxas started to get rough as he tried to get away from the hold of the two men, but they were far stronger than him. However, he stopped struggling when his father started laughing.

"Sora? Roxas, none of this belongs to Sora. It all belongs to _us_." Mr. Hikari had a huge grin on his face. "It was never his. The only thing that was ever his was his stupid aspirations and his ideas. If anything, he should be the one to _thank_ us. It was only us that was able to make his ideas even come to life. He should be indebted to _us._ Okay, get him down before people start to question why we're taking so long." Mr. Hikari turned around to step down the podium, but Roxas wasn't going to just let him easily do that.

"It should be the other way around," Roxas continued, not going down until he made his point clear. "Everything we have is _because_ of Sora, so I hope you realize that by tonight." His father turned around and looked him straight in the eye.

"What do you mean by tonight?" Roxas didn't need to answer for him.

"Sora always was the better mind," Roxas said with a small smile. As if on cue, the white display that was rolled up was slowly starting to make its way down once more as the lights started to dim, earning a confused look from his father. His eyes immediately darted towards the control room at the top, and nearly screamed when he saw a bunch of college students operating it. He made eye contact with Axel, who simply smirked and gave the peace sign.

"Get them down immediately," Mr. Hikari said to one of his men.

"It's too late, Dad. Just let it happen."

The moment Roxas said that, the back doors near the podium swung open, revealing a Sora who didn't look too delighted to be there. All eyes laid on his, and a burst of murmurs floated throughout the ballroom.

"I knew your plan wouldn't work," Sora muttered as he came closer to all of them. "Good thing I planned something else out." Roxas gave him a smile of relief as he relaxed under the holds of the men. Sora put up a peace sign, which was Namine's signal to start playing the presentation.

~ _Earlier this morning~_

" _They are freaking late."  
"Riku woke up late, and he's the one driving the girls, so," Roxas said. Sora nodded in understanding as he took a sip of his black, black coffee; it was way too early in the morning to be awake. However, it was necessary. Currently, the three of them were sitting in the living room of Sora's apartment as they waited for the other three. They weren't supposed to have this meeting, but when it's Sora that calls for a last-minute meet-up, that set off red alarms._

 _After a good ten minutes, the ring of the doorbell signaled their arrival. Axel was the one who got the door, and soon after, all six of them sat at the table near the kitchen. Sora couldn't help but have a violent twitch to his eye when Kairi sat at the far edge away from him._ _ **So, we're going to play this game, huh?**_

 _"Sorry for being late, I kind of overslept," Riku apologized as he took off his jacket. Namine handed Riku his keys, which he had forgotten in his car; boy, was he a little bit out of it this morning._

 _"It's okay—"_

 _"—Be late again and I will literally make you stay out in the freezing cold next time if there is a next time." The difference in responses from the two cousins were great as Riku laughed nervously._

 _"Yessir, it'll never happen again."_

 _"Anyway, why did you call us so early in the morning?" Axel asked with a large, uncovered yawn. "Axel needs his beauty sleep." Namine and Kairi didn't look any different from him; their hair was a bit messier than usual._

 _"A thought crossed my mind yesterday that should be shared to everyone." Sora started. Everyone looked at him expectantly. "It crossed my mind that we're actually doing something today and that nothing's a joke." That woke everyone up good._

 _"C'mere, Sora, and I'll give you a nice fucking willy," Axel said as he stood up from his chair and sauntered his way towards Sora. Sora immediately stood up from his own chair and circled the table to avoid Axel._

 _"Dude, I'm actually being serious. I'm not here to troll all of you; I need sleep as much as everyone else here does."_

 _"What do you mean, 'we're actually doing something today'? What have we been planning for the past week?" Kairi questioned, tone a bit on the grumpy side. "Have you not been taking this seriously?"_

 _"Guilty as charged," he muttered, not liking the feeling of being attacked. "I haven't, and it's 'cause I actually didn't think we would pull through. Axel, you put that finger of yours anywhere near me and I will slice it with this knife that is right next to m—oh, you think I won't do it?_ _ **Test me.**_ _" Axel let out an indignant huff and sat down where Sora was originally sitting. Sora uncomfortably sat down in Axel's seat, which was right next to Kairi's. He could feel death shooting from her eyes, and there were definitely more reasons behind it than just her being woken up very early._

 _"So, what's the plan?" Riku propped an elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand, "You have another idea, don't you, Sora?"_

 _"Riku, we're on the same wavelength for once," Sora said with a smirk. "After realizing that we are actually,_ _ **actually**_ _doing this, I propose a Plan B. We might as well call it Plan A, since our original plan is definitely not going to work." At this, he gave Roxas a look. Roxas simply gave him an apologetic smile._

 _"Hit us with a banger, Sora."_

 _Sora shifted inside his pocket and waved a USB in his hand for everyone's attention._

 _"I finished this just last night with everything I still had left," he informed. "It contains the presentation I'm going to show everyone in that damn hotel ballroom, including video simulations of the things I've been working on. Yes, it's the things your dad stole, but since he hasn't done anything with it yet, it's my chance to present it before he does. I also have this." Sora paused briefly to go into the kitchen. He came back out with a Keyblade that none of them have ever laid eyes on before. Constructed with extreme precision and care, the intricate laces and patterns that traveled through the Keyblade expressed how carefully crafted it was. The mix white, blue, and yellow colors blended in beautifully. With just one look, everyone wondered how much time Sora had put into making this._

" _Luckily, they didn't go through my room, so they didn't take the Keyblade I was working on in it. It's a blessing that this is the one that I completely finished too." He placed it on the table for everyone to observe. "I call it the Ultima Keyblade. I'm sure this will give some credibility to the words I'm going to say tonight, since no one has ever seen this type of design before."_

" _Sora… who are you?" Riku muttered as he felt the metal. "You're freaking crazy."_

" _Hope you understand why I never let you guys knew where I lived." Even Roxas was amazed as he admired the beauty._

" _How long did it take you to make this?"_

" _Very long," was all he offered before he continued. He looked at Riku, who met his eyes in both fear and excitement. "You're going to be the presenter for this Keyblade." Riku blinked and pointed to himself._

" _M-m-me? W-why?"_

" _It's aesthetic for a big buff guy like you to hold it and work it, don't you think? Do you think Nami here can just swing it around like some plastic bat?"_

" _Are you calling me weak? And it's Namine," she corrected instantly. Namine knew he was definitely doing it on purpose now just to mess with her. He gave her a small, casual wink as an apology._

" _Think you can do it?" Riku stared at the Keyblade; he had never actually maneuvered a Keyblade other than the Kingdom Key. However, he gave Sora a weak smile and a thumbs up._

" _Let's put these useless muscles to work."_

" _Great. I'll teach you the mechanics later, so make sure you get it memorized."_

 _"Hey, stop stealing my lines."_

" _Axel."_

 _"Sir, yessir!" Axel jumped up from his seat and saluted, earning a few suppressed grins. "What can I do for you?"_

 _"Infiltrate the control room they have for the ballroom and make sure Nami is able to install it. I actually visited the hotel to see the layout of the ballroom; you'll definitely be able to see me when I give the signal to play the presentation in this USB." Everyone gaped at Sora._

 _"Holy geez, Sora, you actually put a lot of thought and effort into this." Sora rolled his eyes._

 _"Of course. We gotta at least go all at it when we can, especially since we got spied on the other day." He muttered the last part more to himself than to anyone else._

" _What did you just say?"_

" _Nothing, nothing. Nami, you already have a gist about what you're going to do, You're going to take this USB and play what's needed to be played." Namine gave a smile to indicate that she understood. "Should be easy, but I'll leave it up to you if anything were to happen aka there's an error or something. It's important for this to be played when planned." He looked between Axel and Namine. "Make sure you guys are able to access the computers without fail. Knocking a couple of dudes unconscious should be okay. I'm sure they would understand later."_

 _"Gotcha." Then he finally laid his eyes on Kairi, who looked up at him expectantly._

 _"Kairi, I literally have nothing fancy for you to do except keep watch and make sure everything's going smoothly. Text me when to come in. Pretty simple, but still important." She also gave him a thumbs up of understanding._

 _"Alrighty, I get to eat more food."_

"Yeah, I hope you guys know who I am because if not, you guys actually don't pay attention," Sora started off as he spoke in the mic. "Whoa, whoa, I'm saying this quick so that they can't take me down." Kairi couldn't help but laugh a little bit when he dodged one of his uncle's henchmen. "Hello, I'm Sora Hikari, and I'm the Keyblade's true creator."

Immediately, very loud and non-subtle voices spoke out at his statement, which was the effect he wanted. His uncle couldn't possibly just tear him down now—the gears were already beginning to turn at high speeds. By the side, Sora could feel the heat of his uncle fuming, and he tried not to laugh in his face.

It was as if magic happened, for the moment he appeared, cameras and mics were whipped out in plain sight, ready to report all the juicy stuff. On the white display, an old picture of an unknown man appeared.

"Hi, so today, on Roxas's twentieth birthday, I'm going to have a little presentation about the Keyblade and what it's all about," Sora began, rubbing his hands together. Kairi noted how jittery he was and gave him her support in spirit. "Up here is my late father—yes, Roxas's uncle, we're actually related by blood, so don't be spilling weird tabloids out anymore about how Roxas could be my long-lost lover or something." That effectively got the crowd to laugh as they listened intently. Deep down, Kairi felt a bit bad for Roxas, who was just watching Sora from behind, since it was his birthday and all of this was happening. She jotted down in her mental notepad to do something about it later.

"I didn't really know where to begin, so we'll begin here. My father was an aspiring gaming programmer, and I can confidently say that Keywielders wouldn't be anywhere without the man with the mind behind everything. Yes, I know exactly what I'm saying—what do you mean? Well, my father is the true, _true_ mastermind behind the Keyblade."

"Oh, Sora," Kairi muttered; he was such a sweet son.

"No questions here, I'm sorry. I'm just going to finish and go—questions are for later. You can ask them to the current CEO. You can always contact me for a fact check," Sora explained when one person tried to bombard him with questions. He gave a signal towards Namine, who went onto the next slide, revealing a picture of his whole entire family. "I think this is the only photo left of my whole entire family. That little kid is me, don't judge." Kairi blinked. _This amusement park looks familiar._ "We were an average family. Nothing too special. We were happy, but—okay I'm not here to tell a sob story, never mind. They passed away in a car accident many years ago, but they didn't leave me alone." Signal. The next slide showed a picture of a ton of pages with hundreds of sketches. Everyone could recognize the early versions of the different types of Keyblades that are shown today on TV. "My dad left a lot, and I mean _a lot,_ of his work behind. Guess what twelve-year-old me did? Yup, I continued working on it.

"The sport you see today was meant to be a game, and I was the one who continued working on it for my dad. I studied everything he left behind, including code, design and, well, _everything_. I just wanted to finish what my dad started off, and it was good that I was actually interested in this stuff too. I think I was heading towards something good until—hm, I don't know how to say it without really explaining. Oh well, story for later." Kairi wasn't sure what he was up to as he went on with his presentation. He wasn't really explaining how his work got stolen or how Roxas's father exploited it. He left it vague. It wasn't about exposing Roxas or his uncle, and it really wasn't about reclaiming what was his.

Rather, all he was doing was giving a heartfelt presentation about the true origins of the Keyblade, giving the recognition he believed his father deserved.

"Well, I don't think you guys would actually believe the words of a college student so here are some short simulations of what my father imagined." Namine showed the video on the next slide, and the game that Kairi saw on Christmas Eve started to play. It really was a different look from what Keywielders had; the mechanics were actually for a game, not some violent sport. After the video was finished, Riku suddenly emerged from behind the stage, and everyone laid their eyes on the Ultima Keyblade, which was glistening underneath the low lights. Mr. Hikari's eyes flashed as he looked at it and turned towards one of his men.

"I thought I told you to take everything," he hissed.

"W-w-we did. We took everything in that white room of his."

"Did you search _every_ room? What about his room?" At this, the man grew silent, and Mr. Hikari had to control his anger.

"This is an example of one of the Keyblades I was working on for God knows how long. But instead of just making another Keyblade, I made a Keyblade that was testing out the new system I was experimenting with for the game: the Drive system. On the Keyblade are a few buttons which support the regular mechanics that control the virtual game." With every sentence Sora spoke, Riku made sure to emphasize what he was talking about as he waved the Ultima Keyblade around. "However, there are a few more additional ones. I would let you guys see it in real time action, but we're not in a virtual field, so I prepared a video instead." Signal. "This is one of the drive forms I was working on: wisdom form."

A virtual dummy holding a Kingdom Key started to run around the mountain terrain that was simulated. However, at some activation, the dummy's shoes transformed into some sort of rollerblades. The dummy, which was running before, was now skating along the entire mountain terrain as magic bullets shot from the tip of the Keyblade. The dummy even did some flips and turns to show the mobility of the rollerblades. Below was a magic gauge. When it ran out, the rollerblades transformed back into shoes.

"It looks really, really rough, since it is not a fleshed-out idea. I don't even know where to begin with the rollerblade-shoes that was shown in the video, but I'm working on it." Even if it wasn't at completion, it was enough to awe the audience. Everyone seemed to have realized one thing at the exact moment—Sora was the real deal. Kairi could see he was embarrassed at all the admiration as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I think I'm done with my presentation. I said all I wanted to say today." The next slide was played, and Kairi did all she could to not facepalm.

A picture of Axel in some sort of yoga pose was shown. Below was his number in huge font, and above the number was the caption "I need an internship! Contact me, I'll be the best man you'll ever hire."

And that ended their super, duper, secret-agent lives for the day.

The moment Sora stepped down the podium, everyone swarmed him, barraging him instantly with questions. A good amount also swarmed Mr. Hikari and Roxas. Mr. Hikari absolutely did not look pleased as he tried to calm the crowd. Fighting the flow of bodies, Kairi squished herself through the spaces of people so that she could escape from the chaos and into freedom. She felt her arm get grabbed by someone and whipped her head back to meet Riku.

"I need to get out too!" he shouted over the heads of people, and together, the two of them blasted out the hotel and into the fresh air of the night.

"It was getting so stuffy in there!" Riku exasperated as he tugged at the collar of his dress shirt. Kairi took a deep breath in as she nodded and stretched her arms above her head.

"Tell me abou tit. Too many bodies in one small space." She did a twirl to flatten out all the folds on her dress and giggled. "It was so cool though. You were so cool, just holding the Ultima Keyblade like it was your own." Riku flexed, showing off his muscles through his suit.

"Only a few people can make holding a Keyblade look sexy. Maybe I'll be Sora's Keyblade model in the future," he mused as he felt his bulk. Letting his arm down, he looked around at the parking lot and scratched his head. "So now what?"

"Are you going to head home?" Riku peered back into the hotel where the ballroom was and shrugged.

"I mean, my purpose here is over—I'm not sure if we're going to go back home as a group. Sora seems to be—er, _busy_. And Roxas over there is having the time of his life in there as well. Not sure where Axel and Namine are. Maybe they're stuck in the typhoon of people too."

"Hm, I don't think we're going to go home together," Kairi giggled. She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear and motioned a hand towards his car. "Although, I think you're free to head home. It has been a long and tiring day today, hasn't it?"

"You bet. Glad it ended well—at least, I think it ended well, right?"

"Yup!" They both high-fived each other for a job well done and glanced up at the night full of stars.

"Are you heading home too, or…" Kairi shook her head and pointed to the park that was next to the hotel.

"I'm going to wait there for a bit for Sora, so you can head home first." Riku checked the time on his phone before shoving it back into his pocket.

"I got time. I'll wait with you until Sora comes. It's awfully dark over there—I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I suddenly see you on the headlines tomorrow morning. Missing: Kairi Lockhart, the girl who was too young." She punched his upper arm, which made him let out a sound that was mixed with both laughter and pain. Someone needed to tell the redhead that she was actually a lot stronger than she thought she was.

Sitting on the swings, the two of them lightly swung on it with the little motions of their feet. Even though it was getting really cold as the night progressed, the two still had the excitement in them that kept them warm.

"It was so cool, how he just came out, and—gee, he knows how to talk to a crowd of people, doesn't he?" Riku fangirled, showing Kairi a side of him that she had never seen before. "Like, honestly, I've never seen that side of Sora before. It was really overwhelming to learn that much about him in less than a night. You know those family photos? I have never even seen those before!"

"I haven't either," Kairi admitted. "You never saw any? Actually, when did you even meet Sora again?"

"Around middle school, when he first moved into Twilight Town. He was quite the guy, since his parents just recently died around that time," Riku sighed, "He started out pretty rough, but being the cheery guy he was, he found refuge in _something_. I only found out today that the only thing that kind of kept him together was his dad's work. That's amazing."

"Yup."

"You know, I'm glad I was able to help him today, even if it was just swinging a Keyblade around like an idiot." Kairi stopped her swinging and glanced at him from the side. She raised a quizzical eyebrow at him.

"And why is that?" Riku rested his elbows over his knees as he looked at the ground.

"Hm, I usually don't tell anybody, since it's a story long ended, but I feel like I just gotta let it go today." When Riku let out a shaky breath, Kairi knew that he was going to get into something deep real quick. "Sora has helped me out a lot since the beginning of time, even since middle school when I first met him. Even after his attitude change, he never failed to keep his eyes on me even though _he_ was the one that was going through such shit. So, I'm grateful that I was able to repay him somewhat today."

"Aw, Riku…" Kairi reached over to pat him on the shoulder, although it was hard as the chains pulled the swing back to it's stable position.

"I was pretty emo and depressed back then in middle school," Riku admitted. "A couple, well, _family_ issues. It got worse in high school. I even contemplated to even, well, _yeah_." It took Kairi a moment to understand what he was hinting at. When he just continued looking at her, she gasped and stood up quickly to face him.

"Wait, Riku, you don't mean—"

"Chill, Kairi, chill. I already said that my story's over," Riku assured, a light smile playing on his lips. "I'm all good, I swear." Kairi frowned and sat back down on her swing.

"You know, it's not just Sora anymore now that's here for you. You know that right?"

"Well, duh, of course. Never thought I could be here, but it's all because of Sora. He was the one who reached out to me and made sure I went back on the right path again. That's why I'm always going to be his right-hand man."

"Is this what Sora means when he says you're too cheesy to him? Always making him feel awkward or something like that." Kairi recalled the moments where Sora always grouped her and Riku together as the duo that "made him overdose with cheesiness" whenever they acted kindly towards him. Riku laughed and nodded his head.

"He tells me to stop it, but I probably won't anytime soon." Kairi felt all bubbly inside to see the way Riku viewed Sora and gave a huge smile. _See, Sora, you were never alone._ "Though, I wish he could just open up to me and even Axel a little bit more. Like, _trust_ us a little more. But I understand that it's a hard hurdle to overcome considering all he had to go through."

"I was impressed that you weren't really mad when Sora revealed his secret to you guys when we met up in the woods. You guys actually accepted it pretty quickly." Riku snickered at his.

"Well, we already kind of got the gist before, when you were talking with Roxas that one time at school."

"You _what_?"

"We spied." He didn't let her get a chance to respond as he gave her a smirk before standing up from his swing. He went behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Kairi let out a squeal when he started pushing her.

"Riku!" she laughed as he twirled the chains to make her spin. "Dude, I'm gonna fall. Riku! If I bleed, I will sue you!"

"Yeah, yeah, Princess." She yelped when she fell off and nearly lost her balance if not for the frantic fish-like arm movements she did to keep herself on her feet. She bumped her head right into Riku's chest while his arms shot out to stable her by the elbows. For some reason, the both of them started to laugh uncontrollably—maybe because they were just too damn tired and happy.

"Riku, why are you laughing?" Kairi guffawed as she held onto his elbows as well. "If you don't stop laughing, I won't stop laughing."

"I won't stop laughing if _you_ don't stop!" When she tried to take a step back, her heel sank right into a hole some kid must've dug out and fell right on her butt. This made Riku laugh even harder as Kairi let out silent sounds of hysterics. It was Sora's arrival that finally made them shut up.

"Am I…interrupting something?" Both of them shot their eyes over to Sora, who had his arms crossed as he watched the little charade the two were doing, very unamused. Riku cleared his throat and tried not to continue laughing at Kairi's fall as he gave her a hand. She took it gratefully and dusted the tanbark off her dress.

"No, you're not. We just got kind of crazy." Dusting his own suit, he waved goodbye to Kairi and went over to clap Sora on the shoulder. "Go get your girl, Sora," he whispered into Sora's ear. Sora backed away and covered his ear with a hand, staring at Riku.

"And what are you talking about?"  
"Please. Meeting a girl in the park during the night underneath the stars is such a classic. Old one in the books, my friend. Good luck." Before Sora could even say a word back in retortion, Riku had already walked a good distance away.

"Think you know everything, don't you?" Sora muttered as he walked over to Kairi, whose nervousness levels suddenly skyrocketed. It was dark, it was quiet, and it was just the two of them now alone. Maybe she should've requested them to talk at another location.

"How's everything?" she asked. Her voice wavered a bit as he looked at him. Underneath the moonlight, his blue eyes shined even brighter than before. The way some of his hair glided over his eyes gave such an alluring aura, it took Kairi all she could not to gush at how handsome he was.

"Sorry for making you wait for such a long time. It's somewhat dealt with for the time being," he answered as he took a seat on the swing. Kairi sat back down as well. "It's going to be a huge rollercoaster for the next few days as I battle it out with my uncle, but for now, it's over."

"Mhm, it has been a tiring day. Have a good night's rest after this."

"Yup."

"You did great."

"Haha, thanks."

"…yeah." Kairi looked at her feet, counting the crystals decorating her heels while Sora stared up at the moon and the stars. She wasn't quite sure why they were here, so she was just waiting for him to say _something_. However, when he too kept quiet, she was beginning to feel a bit awkward.

"Hm, is it time to go ho—"

"Thank you for everything, Kairi. I don't think this could've happened without you." She clamped her mouth close. "Roxas told me about how you dragged him out to give him a piece of your mind. Said that you wouldn't take no for an answer when he said he didn't know what to do to help me out."

"Oh, he did?" Kairi said, a bit embarrassed by the way he said it. "I guess I did, yeah." Sora smiled and looked at his hands.

"At first, I was hesitant, but now, I'm so glad I was able to just stand up there and do what I've always wanted to do, so yeah, thank you, Kairi." Kairi was getting a bit uncomfortable; he had never thanked her this much before, and she just wasn't used to it.

"Gosh, it's your turn to give me an overdose of cheesiness," Kairi said with a mock gag. "You're going to make me sick."

" _Pfft_ , yeah, right. I know you like it when I'm all nice. You get all red and fluttery when I am." Kairi had her mouth opened at him before flipping her hair over to one shoulder.

"So not true."

"Mhm. Believe what you want to believe."

"Duh, I will."

"…"

"…" _Oh gosh, this silence again._

"… So… what was with that romantic atmosphere you had going on with Riku earlier?" _Huh?_

"Romantic?" Kairi blurted. "Riku?" Those two words together did not fit well in her mind. Finding the whole image funny, she just started laughing; this didn't quench Sora's mood _at all_. "Sora, you got a wild imagination. What a funny kid you are."

"I'm serious. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that you _enjoyed_ his company."

"Well, of course I enjoy his company. He's not some annoying fly you want to swat dead or anything." Sora simply grumbled at this as he crossed his legs over the swing.

"You sure act like a girly-girl when you're around guys other than me. I feel bad for them—they don't know how ferocious you really are." Kairi gave him a small frown while he looked away from her. He mentally punched himself in the face real hard. In a happy mood, she simply casted his insult aside and swung on the swing a little bit.

"My love life is dwindling in a dramatic downward spiral, isn't it?"

"Pardon?" Sora looked back at her and was surprised to just see her gently gazing at the sky above her. She let out a small laugh.

"Don't worry, no hard feelings though."

"What are you talking about?" Kairi motioned with her hand to signal that it wasn't a big deal.

"I'm just kidding. Well, I'm kinda not, but I just threw it out there as a joke, chill. It's just that," Kairi fixed her hair when the wind blew past it, "I think my feelings for you are just getting a bit stronger to the point where anything you say could possibly hurt me, even if it's just a joke." Sora started to panic—this wasn't what he wanted.

"I didn't mean to—"

"But enough about me, how about, er, you?" She was clearly steering the topic away from her, and Sora didn't try to steer it back.

"What about me do you want to know?" Kairi dwindled her fingers together, feeling a bit awkward just bring it up.

"How's your, um, _love life_?" Kairi didn't know why she wanted to dig herself a hole—talking about her crush's love life that clearly didn't involve her was just going to bring a shovel of hurt down her heart, but she did anyway. Sora blinked rapidly at her before standing up to start playing with the swing.

"It's terrible," he bluntly answered. "Absolutely terrible."

"Oh." She didn't expect him to react so strongly, but she figured that only Xion could bring that out of him. "I'm sorry to hear tha—"

"My eyes are always following her, and whenever they do, I just see her looking at someone else other than me. She acts really sweetly towards him but treats me like I am the devil's spawn." Kairi raised an eyebrow. She knew Xion had an extreme obsession with Roxas, but she never knew she treated Sora like that. If anything, she treated Sora like some play doll rather than the devil.

"It's okay, I know love hurts," she attempted to console him. However, she was literally the worst person to ask for love advice. Reaching out to him, she awkwardly patted him on the back of his shoulder. "It's okay, dude. Time heals all."

"It's not easy. Not when I see her nearly every day. Every time I look at her, her pretty eyes just kind of lure me back in." Every word he said was like a knife pierce, but she hid her hurt pretty well as she patted him. _Kairi, you love being an emotional masochist, don't you?_ She questioned deeply what made Xion so attractive to his eyes to the point where his heart was a slave to her, but not wanting to be rude, she kept quiet.

"Just tell me everything, if that makes you feel better." Sora tried not to smile as he continued.

"She's cute when she's riled up, it just makes me want to tease her more and more. She's oddly funny too when she wants to be because she never fails to make me laugh with whatever gimmick she pulls. Though, sometimes she likes to think first with her mouth, but at the end, she always pulls through with that brain of hers—it's admirable.

"Even when she looks like she just came back from hell itself, she never fails to look pretty. Her hair can be sticking out at every angle and direction, and I'd still call her beautiful because what makes her so beautiful is her _everything._ " Kairi swallowed—the way he described her made her seem so _perfect._ "And do you know what's the best part about her?" Kairi couldn't stand to hear anymore.

"What is it?" she whispered. He suddenly left his swing and stood in front of her, hand on one of the chains. Bending down a bit, Sora towered over Kairi as she looked up at him with her curious blue orbs.

"When she doesn't know that the person I'm talking about is her." With his other hand, he caressed her cheek for a bit before cupping the side of her face. "Get it?" Kairi stopped breathing at that instant.

"What did you just say?" she whispered. Sora smiled as he ran his thumb across her cheek and tilted her head back a little bit.

"I'm saying that I really want to kiss you right now. Can I?" He didn't even wait for her reply as he slowly bent down and captured her lips with his, sending Kairi flying to the stars.

* * *

Yeah, so this was a super long chapter! I'm not sure if I executed right (hope I didn't rush). I can confidently say that we're reaching the near end of this fanfic xD Probably a few more chapters to go and it'll be over! Wow, I didn't even realize that I first published this fanfic on Christmas Eve in 2016! It's already 2018, I'm kind of freaked tbh. Sorry again for not always updating frequently cause life happens :')))) But anyway, yup, after 150k words and this chapter, it's time to wrap this up soon! Thank you so much for your views and reviews, they literally get me writing this much in such a time after the update before. Sorry if I don't reply to them often (I'm shy), but all your guy's compliments are fueling me. I'm already beginning my second fanfic, so hope you guys keep your eyes on that one too!


	22. Chapter 22

It was a small kiss—just a slight press of the lips—but it was enough to send Kairi's mind flying out the window. Hands holding onto the chains of the swing tightly, Kairi simply fluttered her eyes closed. Just when she felt Sora ready to deepen it with the slight motion of his hand, the phone in his pocket rang. Immediately, the two broke apart.

"Never thought I would get interrupted by a phone call… Hello?" Sora stood up straighter as he turned his attention towards his phone. As for Kairi, all she could do was stare at him, her mind impaired to do any processing at all. _Sora and I… what?_ "Uh, sorry, it was cause I had to do something. Just go home first. Drive Namine home too—sorry about that. Oh, yeah, yeah definitely… after things get sorted out. Yup, bye." Ending the call, Sora slipped the phone back into his pocket and sighed.

"R-roxas?" Sora raised an eyebrow, momentarily confused, before nodding.

"Yeah, I kind of left him. He just wanted to check on me."

"Ah…" Kairi blinked rapidly as she stared at her hands. _Why is he so composed?_ She had a really hard time believing in what just happened a minute ago—he looked completely normal!

"I'll drive you back, hm?"

"O-okay…" She nearly squeaked when he gave her his hand. She looked at it, wondering what he wanted her to do with it. _Don't tell me he wants me to hold it._

"It's not going to bite or anything," he gruffly said. She quickly took his hand, and he lead her out of the park and towards his car. They walked slowly, with Sora leading and Kairi trailing behind slightly. The butterflies in her stomach wouldn't calm down at all as she slowly processed things.

 _Sora… did he just confess to me? Does he like me? He didn't really say it… but he kissed me! Oh gosh._ Her hands quickly became clammy under all her nervousness. Not wanting him to feel gross, she panicked and took her hand back, earning a look from him.

"Are you okay? You don't look okay." _Of course I'm not okay after you pulled a fast one on me!_

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." She wished that she could stop acting like a bumbling fool. Another drop-dead-handsome smile graced Sora's features before he let out a hearty laugh. With a swift movement, he took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers, effectively dragging her faster towards the car.

"Let's go, you idiot."

The ride back to the dorms was a quiet one. Kairi had regained herself, but now she was just _confused_. Maybe he was a little bit too happy over tonight's success…

"I hope you're not overthinking anything. I feel like that would be something you would do." Kairi jumped at his voice, not expecting him to just read her mind like that.

" _Pfft_ , no, I—of course not."

"Uh huh…" Kairi was glad when they were finally back on campus; the car was getting a little bit suffocating for her. She quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her purse that was at her feet.

"Thanks for the ride back home," she said softly. She tried to force her eyes to look up and address him directly, but she just couldn't—she needed to cool herself down first.

"Yeah, no problem." Seeing nothing else to do in his car, Kairi settled her hand on the door handle and was about to just open it and go, but Sora stopped her again. "Wait, Kairi, you forgot something." _Huh?_

"What did I forget this ti— _mhm…_ " Kairi turned back around to face him, only to meet him in another kiss. Before she could respond, he had already pulled away by a bit.

"Me. You haven't been looking at me in the eye at all," he answered, hand playing with a loose strand of her hair. "Well, now you are, but it's not really the look I was aiming for."

"What are you doing, Sora?" she asked, backing away from him—his face was just too close for comfort. Sora blinked. He thought that he had made it clear at the park, but judging by her reactions, it seemed like he didn't.

"What do you think I'm doing? I don't think that's a hard answer to find."

"I'm not smart," she blurted out, not really thinking about how that would actually sound like if said out loud. She successfully caused Sora to shoot her a very morbid look, which made her mentally kick herself in the shin. "Wait, that's not what I mean. Like, I'm not smart, as in, I'm not really—you know, I don't even know what I'm trying to say anymore."

"I don't know what you're trying to say either."  
"What I'm trying to say is," she let out a breath, "What's going on?" She pointed a finger between the both of them. "Why are you suddenly doing this?"

"You really are not smart."

"Hey!" He took a hand and smoothed out her hair, which had been riled up from all the movement and activity from tonight. Besides being shocked and surprised by all his gentle movements for tonight, Kairi was more freaked out than anything else. Sora almost let out a sound of surprise when Kairi suddenly put a hand on his forehead. "Are you running sick tonight? Do you have some sort of fever? Oh gosh, you're losing it."

"How am I losing it?" he growled as he swatted her hand away, which made her sigh in relief.

"That's the Sora I know!" Sora simply gaped at her—how badly did she view him?

"I'm actually offended."

"I'm the one who should be offended. You're just… _kissing_ me out of nowhere… I'm so confused."

"Nowhere? Confused? _Pfft,_ now you know how _I_ felt when you confessed to me," he sighed, pulling away from her and back into his seat. "I didn't see it coming at all. You just randomly told me your feelings and I was left there sitting duck and—okay, that's not even the point. Did my feelings not get across?"

"Feelings?"

"I like you." Sora decided to just say it as bluntly and straightforwardly as he could—girls, he decided, were too complicated. "And before you ask when, it's been a while."

"But Xion—"

"You're really wrapped around her existence, aren't you?" Sora yawned—his fatigue was starting to catch up on him. He hadn't been sleeping well for the past two days; he had spent all his time just preparing for this day. "She has long been forgotten. I think I still got to talk to her at some point—I don't think things are over with her just yet—but I really don't like her anymore." Kairi twiddled her fingers together, amazed that everything he was saying was true. She had thought that he would never look her way, but…

 _He likes me._

Kairi covered her face in her hands, causing Sora to get worried. Thinking the worst, he started to panic. _Did I assume too much? It's been a while since she confessed…_

"Am I too late?" he blurted out. "Now that I rethink everything, I kind of just threw a lot of stuff at you and just kissed you. I didn't think about the possibility that you wouldn't—"

"I like you too, Sora." Sora's heartrate picked up by a little bit—no, _a lot_ —when Kairi straightened up and gave him one of the brightest smiles he had ever seen. "I've always had."

"Oh, o-okay," Kairi noted that this was one of the first times Sora had ever seem so nervous and jumpy concerning her. He let out a breath and smiled, "That's great. Actually, that's awesome."

"Sorry for sounding kind of stupid. I was just kind of dumbstruck…" Kairi admitted as she nervously tucked some hair behind her ear. "You're right; I didn't expect it at all, so I was like, _whoa._ He likes me—but does he really? What's going on? Ah…!" Kairi's little rant made him chuckle, causing her to join in too. "I'm sorry. I think I get it now. It has sunken in like a ship sinking into the sea—wait, no, that's not a good thing. I have absorbed it into me like a sponge, and—"

"Okay, I get it," Sora interrupted, finding her absolutely funny with her analogies _._ "You're so dorky."

"Am I?"

"You absolutely are." Kairi bit her bottom lip as she looked into his eyes, which were swirling with happy and giddy feelings. He almost looked like a kid. He tilted his head slightly to the side, questioning why she was looking at him like that. "You're making me feel so nervous, Kairi, with that look."

"So…"

"… yes?"

"What are we?" She accidentally said that as a low whisper.

"We can be whatever you want us to be," he said in the same manner as her. "I do have a preference for you though." Kairi quirked an eyebrow.

"Which is?"

"Be my girl." She squealed and faced the window, her hands covering her once more. She swore that romantic Sora was going to be the death of her. He chuckled at her reaction as he tugged her by the elbows so that she could face him.

"What made you just tell me today? Couldn't it have been any other day?" Sora sighed and pulled her hand so that he could put it against his own cheek. She blushed as he closed his eyes and reveled into the feeling of her soft skin.

"After today, I just realized that I really need you by my side and pronto before you get taken away. Geez, that gave a shiver down my spine, thinking that you would fall for someone else." Sora opened his eyes and stuck out his tongue at her. "Sorry, I'm possessive."

"It's okay because I don't think I'm going to go anywhere…" Sora bit his bottom lip as Kairi leaned closer, putting her forehead against his. They breaths mixed as they looked at each other's mouths, coaxing the other to just come closer.

"That's awesome." Tilting his head to the side and closing his eyes, Sora prepared to kiss her again, but was interrupted by a very long honk of the horn from another car experiencing road rage. He pulled away in surprise, but Kairi effectively pulled him back by grabbing his tie.

"If you don't kiss me before I leave, I'm going to get really angry."

"Princess, that can easily be done." And Sora swooped over and captured her in another kiss. Kairi never thought that this would happen in a million years, but here she was, in Sora's car, being all affectionate and flirty. He had hugged her a few times, but she never knew it was ever in a romantic context. Here in the car, she was so close to him, and she _can_ be close to him like this from now on. That thought made her so happy as she kissed him back.

"This is real…" she murmured, pulling away from him. "Are you my boyfriend starting today, then?"

"I can be." Kairi couldn't help but reach over the space between them and hug him clumsily around his neck, causing him to laugh and awkwardly hug her back as much as he could in the cramped space. "But I probably won't be able to spend time with you just yet because of everything."

"That's alright! Yay!" she giggled into his hair, her chest bursting with emotions. She then moved away from him and grabbed her purse, intent in seriously going back to her dorm this time—well, Namine's dorm—for tonight. She opened the door and exited out. Bending down so that she could peer inside the car once more, she smiled. "Thanks for driving me back, Sora." Sora gave her a peace sign—something he usually didn't do, but after doing it so much as a signal to Namine, it just stuck around—and gave her a smile back.

"My pleasure." He chuckled once more as Kairi squealed and stomped her feet on the ground with her heels before she shut the door and scrambled back towards the dorms. Sora watched her as she went completely in through the gates before driving back to his apartment. Hands on the wheel, his expression started to harden as he thought about the incoming days to come. He sighed as he stopped at a red light.

"It's going to be war."

~.~.~

The next few days was anything but peaceful. The news raged with the whole thing that had happened on Roxas's twentieth birthday. The true origins of the Keyblade sparked just interest, but the investigation for more about the story just caused fire. People started to question Mr. Hikari, who were not satisfied with his answers at all. They were vague and ungiving; he was not willing to give in to the truth just yet. Sora also have not said anything at all so that he could let his uncle feel more of the shame.

"It starts to get into copyright laws the moment I reveal what he did to me," Sora explained as he twirled his pencil. "I wasn't dumb enough to leave all my work without my name on all of them. I don't know what I'll decide to do then, but for now, I just want my uncle to admit what he did wrong and simply apologize."

"Um, I don't think he's doing that at all," Riku pointed out, feet on the table. This earned a disapproving glare from the librarian, making him quickly put them down.

Currently, all seven of them were at a large table in the library with Hayner included. Hayner had been excluded out of everything, causing him to just pout all day.

"How come I didn't know anything?" he whined, looking at all his friends in the eye. "You don't know how I felt the moment I saw Sora's name on TV! C'mon, guys, c'mon, where's the brotherhood here? What happened to us four bros? Guys!"

"Sorry, Hayner," was all Sora, Axel, and Riku could come up with to quell the boy's sadness. Hayner simply crossed his arms and looked away from everyone, not over it just yet. Namine and Kairi had their heads on the table for reasons unknown, causing all them to question.

"Sora… I know this is an important matter for you," Namine began.

"But finals season is around the corner!" Kairi cried, clutching her head in her hair. "I need to study, I need to study, I need to study! I can't go back home for spring break like this! What is this math? This math defies any application to my major!" This caused Roxas, who was next to her, to laugh, since he was her tutor after all during fall quarter. However, he wished he didn't bring attention to himself, for Kairi started to shake him by the arm. "Roxas, save me again this time. I need your wisdom, power, knowledge—your brain! Please!"

"If I could surgically remove my brain and put it into your head, I would…" This whole display ticked Sora off, and he kicked her underneath the table, causing her to shoot him a look.

"I'll help you out, so be quiet." Kairi's eyes grew glittery as she stared at Sora and clapped her hands together.

"Sora, I love you!" To everyone, this sounded very casual, but between the both of them, it was something else. Sora gave her a discreet wink before looking back onto his paper. This didn't go unnoticed by Riku, who simply tried not to snicker.

Axel sat back and looked at everyone on the table, amazed at where they are now.

"Axel, why the fuck are you crying?" Riku asked, being the first one to notice. A lone tear was seen slipping down one of Axel's cheek, creeping everyone out. He sniffed and dramatically wiped his tears on his sleeve, letting out a sound that they all assumed was a cry.

"It's just that," he took a tissue out of his backpack to put more into his dramatic act, "I never thought I would see the day where we would all be sitting here together again like high school." Riku, Sora, and Roxas started to look at each other, as if finally realizing what Axel was pointing out, before laughing. Kairi smiled at the image before looking back to her math textbook.

"Well, there's one person missing, but I don't think any of us want to see her." Everyone literally cringed—they knew who Riku was talking about. Sora sighed and put his pencil down on the table. He stared right at Roxas, who could never get used to the intimidating glare Sora always gave him.

"You need to do something about her."

"M-m-me? Why me?"

"'Cause she's been giving us shit since she's batshit crazy over you."

" _What?_ " Everyone on the table nearly facepalmed—this guy _still_ didn't get it. Namine never really got a backstory, but based on everything that has happened, she could assume what everyone was talking about and awkwardly cleared her throat. Kairi rolled her eyes to herself—her sister has yet to admit her feelings for the blonde.

"Plus, I don't think your privacy is safe around her," Axel said. It pained him to see his best friend becoming whatever she was becoming, but it really needed to stop. Roxas, extremely confused, shook his head.

"I don't get it; why is that? I understand Xion might have a… couple screws loose, but…"

"There was also another reason why I changed the plans," Sora interjected, sighing as he rested his against a propped-up arm on the table. "I saw her—"

"Sora, why aren't you answering your phone. Geez." Sora looked over to the side, and was surprised to see Aqua, the girls' swim team captain. Confused, he checked his phone and blinked at the text messages she sent him.

"Sorry, it was on do-not-disturb," he apologized as he made the motion to stand up. Everyone looked at Aqua and gaped at her height—she was a really, _really_ tall female. She was even taller than Sora and was almost as tall as Riku. The moment he stood up, she put him in a headlock, surprising him.

"Skipping practice for three days without notifying us—what did you think I had to do, huh? Huh?"

"I'm sorry, Aqua, I'm sorry!"

"I had to deal with my team _and_ your team with our coaches!"

"I'm sorry, I had my reasons."

"Yeah, yeah, Keyblade creator." Sora widened his eyes as she let him go and smiled at him. She gave him the big brown bag that was in her hand and patted him on the back. "Saw you on TV. What a bigshot, aren't you?" Sora looked at the contents of the bag and was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of snacks in it.

"Care package? Didn't know we still did this. Thanks, Aqua." She simply chuckled and threw her short hair back over her shoulder as she turned around and walked away, giving a wave before disappearing once more.

"I've never seen Sora get bullied before," Riku commented nonchalantly as a joke when Sora sat back down. He put the bag in the center, allowing everyone to get some, before growling at Riku.

"Aqua is a well-respected upperclassman. I'm not being bullied."

"Yeah, whatever."

"As I was saying, I saw Xion when—"

"My man, Sora!" Recognizing the voice, Sora groaned and looked up to address who it was.

"Tidus, Wakka," he said, trying not to twitch his eye. With blitzball in his hand, Tidus clapped Sora with his other.

"Saw you on TV. You're awesome, dude!"

"Yeah, thanks."

"My buddy, I was so surprised," Wakka added. Sora had thought he made it clear to these two that they weren't really his close friends, but he humored them anyway. "Haven't seen you in ages since Sephiroth's class."

"Yeah, dude, yeah…"

"Welp, we're going to blitzball practice now. You should've continued playing with us." Sora shrugged.

"Couldn't handle two sports at once. Maybe another time."

"Yeah, definitely." As he waved goodbye to the two, Sora could feel the stares of his friends.

"You sure are popular, aren't you, Sora?" Namine remarked. Sora rubbed his temples—ever since the news on TV and online, everyone has just been randomly approaching him. Of course, some of them had reasons (Aqua), but others…

"As I was saying… Xion—"

"Sora!"

"Holy moogles—what?" He was starting to reach it and turned around to face the person, but was surprised to see Selphie, who had a look of surprise at his outburst. Sora grew scared—it was one thing to get annoyed, but it was another thing to get annoyed at _Selphie._

"Well, then, I just wanted to come over and say hi, but I guess this best friend isn't needed here!"

"Selphie—"

"Good bye!" She stomped off, leaving Sora unable to say anything. He knocked his head onto the table—it seemed like the fates didn't want him to rat out Xion and deal with her just yet. He _did_ have other things to worry about.

"What were you going to say, Sora?" Roxas inquired, wanting to know what everyone seemed to know about Xion. He shook his head while it was still on the table.

"I'm tired. Let's discuss another time. By the way," he straightened up, "I'll just remind you again, Roxas—don't say anything unless I tell you to." Roxas nodded.

"I'll do whatever you will tell me to." Sora awkwardly looked away—his relationship with Roxas still made him uncomfortable.

 _But we're getting better…_

Roxas had already proven that he was willing to cooperate with Sora. Blind with hatred, Sora never realized how Roxas truly regretted his actions and was determined to make it up to him. He secretly thanked Kairi for making all of this possible once more before he went back to his thinking.

Kairi glanced up at Sora and mentally giggled at how concentrated he looked as he planned his next course of action. Ever since Roxas's banquet, they haven't really had much time together since Sora and even Roxas had been so busy managing everything on their own. If it wasn't for his declaration of his feelings for her, then Kairi would've had a hard time believing that anything that happened between them that night actually happened. Of course, she didn't complain—she would just have to make him have time for her later.

"If you don't mind me asking, Sora," Riku began, bringing back the topic that was lost ages ago, "What exactly are you planning on doing? It's great that people kind of know what happened, but…"

"We'll see," was the only answer Sora offered him. "We'll see."

~.~.~

 _When asked to validate whether or not Hikari's adoptive son, who is also his blood-related nephew, speaks truth of the revelations he spoke of at Roxas Hikari's twentieth birthday banquet, he refuses to give a clear answer. "Sora Hikari has not been involved with any of Keywielders' growth," Hikari stated. "Because of that sole reason, we refuse to answer any questions about him." If this is true, then who really is speaking the truth? Both Sora and Roxas Hikari have also refused to participate in any interviews just yet. What is the internal conflict within Keywielders? Stay tuned to find out._

Sora angrily exited out the tab where he read the article and crossed his arms. Roxas also sighed and drummed his fingers on the table of Sora's kitchen.

"Sorry about my father. He's not yielding at all…" Sora waved a hand, dismissing Roxas's comment and pinched his eyebrows together.

"Just to let you know, I have no interest in Keywielders."

"I know. I don't either."

"I just want the truth about the Keyblade to be released to the public. To get my stuffed returned to me."

"I would want that too." Sora sighed.

"How's your situation at home?"

"Not that good," Roxas admitted. "My dad has literally shut me out. My mom just feels betrayed, but she's not really a problem. He's not talking to me at all, so I can't really do anything at home."

" _Roxas, you're a fool. You think I'm going to bend down just because of a little media mishap?" Roxas clenched his fists as he talked with his father in his office._

" _Dad, it's already out, the truth," Roxas urged. "Sora doesn't even want anything to do with Keywielders. He doesn't want the money, he doesn't want the glory—all he wants is—"_

" _Silence!" Roxas shut up when his dad slammed a fist on his table. "You really like to be a hero, don't you? Why don't you be a hero somewhere else. You're just being stupid. It seems like you don't understand; this is going to hurt you just as much as it's going to hurt me, so stop this nonsense."_

" _I just want to do the right thing for Sora, and I think you should consider it too before it gets worse," Roxas stated once more. His dad was really belittling both him and Sora as a threat. "Sora is giving you a chance, Dad. I think you should take it and—"_

" _Chance? No college kid is giving me no chance. I'm the one who's giving him a chance. He better stop his little shenanigans than to test my temper. I'll let him have his childish ruckus until he's satisfied."_

" _But Dad!"_

" _How many times do I have to tell you!" his dad roared. He was very done with his son and his incomprehensible actions. What kind of person would want to ruin his own future? "So what if we took his stuff? So what if we stole his ideas? It doesn't matter because_ _ **I'm**_ _the one who made it all a success. All his stupid ideas a success, so why must we apologize? I think he is the one who needs to give_ _ **us**_ _a public thank you for bringing his ideas alive anyway. I'm not going to admit to anything because I did nothing wrong. This is my company, and no college kid is going to bring me down that easily._

" _And Roxas," his father leaned over his table with a small smile. "I don't think you're any better than me."_

" _What did you just say?" Roxas half-whispered, insulted by his comment. Roxas's dad merely chuckled as he stood up from his chair, walked around his desk, and stood in front of Roxas._

" _My son, you don't remember? After all, you were the one who initially took his things in the first place? What makes you any different from me? That's right: you're no less a stealer than I am, so teach yourself before you teach others."_

Roxas sighed as he recalled the conversation he had with his father. _What to do, what to do…_ He didn't tell Sora any of this as he listened to him.

"All I want is a damn apology and my stuff back, why is he being so difficult!" Sora suddenly yelled, causing Roxas to jump in his seat in surprise. "I'm giving him a chance before the situation escalates, but it seems like he doesn't want it. I'm sorry, Roxas, but I have to do what I—" he stopped when Roxas put up two hands in surrender, a small smile gracing his lips.

"I got you the first time. You do what you need to do to stop my dad. Though, I have to admit," Roxas placed his hands together on the table and looked Sora in the eye, "I'm surprised you're not pushing for something more." Sora cocked an eyebrow up.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, like the total shut down of Keywielders—that's pretty big, but I feel like if you just keep pushing… I know that this whole Keywielders thing isn't what you or your dad imagined, so I thought that you wouldn't want it to exist in this form at all anymore. I'm surprised that all you want is an apology, you know?" Sora rubbed the back of his head, as if totally stooped at what Roxas said, before shrugging.

"Even though you and your dad molded it into something it wasn't ever supposed to be at all," Roxas winced when he felt Sora indirectly attacking at him once more, "I have to admit; you guys did something I don't think I could've ever done."

"What?" Sora smiled bitterly.

"You guys successfully made it into a worldwide entertainment phenomenon. Keyblading is officially registered as a sport. I think I would be painted a villain if I suddenly made the whole thing shutdown. Without you guys, I don't think the Keyblade would've gotten anywhere if it was just me."

"You can't say that, Sora. The future and what could've been can never be known, so—"

"I'm trying to compliment you here, so just take it and leave it. I know you worked hard on it too, you know… It would be a waste if it was all gone." Roxas's jaw dropped onto the floor because of hearing his younger cousin say these words. The same younger cousin that hated his guts just a few months before! Unable to control his emotions, Roxas went over and gave Sora a hug, freaking him out by a ton.

"Sora, the cute kid inside you still exists, doesn't it, doesn't it!" Sora roughly shrugged him off, wiping himself as if Roxas just contaminated him with thousands of rapidly-multiplying bacteria. Little did Sora know how much his words meant to Roxas.

"Do that again I swear I will—oh, whatever." Sora laid the side of his face against a hand as his mind ventured into his thoughts. He spoke words of truth—Roxas and his dad, no matter what schemes they pulled in the past to get this far, was able to make everything his father and him created into a success. He didn't have any plans of stripping Keywielders away from the world.

Indeed, all he wanted was an official apology and recognition for his father.

But if he wasn't granted any of that, then that would be a problem.

"Accept the next biggest interview," Sora commanded as he stood up and slammed a hand on the table. "I've already given your father enough time. I'm not giving anymore." Roxas gave him a peace sign.

"Sure."

The next week, Kairi, Namine, Axel, and Riku watched Roxas appear on TV on one of the biggest channels for entertainment news for an interview at Axel's dorm. After lunch, the dormers decided to just crash at someone's dorm, and they chose Axel's through a game of rock-paper-scissors. All three of them wished they didn't—it was as if a tornado went through the room twice, leaving nothing unscathed. Underwear hanging by the windows, stinky socks that went unwashed for three weeks, trash can filled above the rim by several inches—it was horrific. All Axel said as an explanation was, "I didn't expect guests."

"I thought Roxas and Sora weren't going to do any interviews," Kairi muttered as she watched Roxas exchange happy greetings with the people.

"Sora probably blew his top," Riku proposed. "Have you not been reading the things they've been reporting online? Roxas's dad is not backing down at all; he still refuses to admit to Sora's claims. Sora hasn't been answering questions since the banquet for a reason, so, all of this is probably driving him nuts."

"What can Roxas do though? Isn't this just a war between Sora and his uncle?" Axel asked, wondering what type of role Roxas can play in this conflict. Kairi bit the inside of her cheek hard at this; they didn't know the fact that all this happened _because_ of Roxas. However, she didn't bother to explain—she had a feeling that Roxas would do that job for her.

"Oh, Roxas…" Kairi whispered sadly.

"After doing some research aka professional web surfing, I finally kind of figured out why his uncle just went ahead and stole his stuff," Riku said. "I did it because I thought it was weird that his uncle would steal some college student's work, but it kind of makes sense now—some of Keywielders's stocks went down just a tiny bit."

"I actually read in on it too," Namine added. "Some people are saying that Keywielders is lacking in innovation."

"Explain a little bit more," Kairi said, fully interested with the topic now. Namine ran a hand through her blonde hair as she watched Roxas chat idly on screen.

"The company has been stagnant in development. I mean, they've been releasing new models of Keyblades for the past few years, but that's about it. Besides the basic magic system and the high-tech visualization of virtual reality, nothing has really changed about Keywielders. Of course, it's definitely a huge, _huge_ thing still—it's one of the greatest things that has happened in this century—but people believe that the sport will grow worn out and old if it doesn't make new things, especially with the rise of new technology. Have you heard about Lenses?"

"Lenses?" Kairi wasn't really on top of her game concerning these things, so she wasn't up-to-date.

"Dude, I heard about that," Axel interjected excitedly. "Costs a shit ton of money, but it's been on the rise. It's the eye visor that creates virtual reality wherever you go right?"

"Bingo. You're not restricted to a virtual field anymore—anything can be seen as virtual reality with these Lenses. Right now, the concept of Keywielders is still dominant, since the effects are more powerful with a virtual field, but fast forward in time, with more work done on the Lenses… I think you know where I'm headed."

"Yikes."

"Keywielders have been trying new things," Riku continued. "But I don't think they've been popular."

"The card system, right?" Namine raised an eyebrow at Axel—she didn't expect him to pay attention to these things. It was as if Axel read her mind, for he stuck a tongue out at her. "C'mon, my best friend has been involved with this shiz since the dawn of time. I can give a few points out here and there."

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly. "But you're absolutely right. The card battle system was kind of… not good."

"And so, they just decide to finally steal Sora's stuff, their back-up plan if they couldn't make any newer things," Kairi concluded, putting everything everyone has been saying together.

"Bingo." Kairi rubbed her temples—Sora's world sure was difficult to understand and grasp. She smiled at her sister. Namine always was the whiz in the family. "I wonder what Roxas is here to do though…"

"So, Mr. Roxas Hikari. We're honored to have you here this afternoon. We've heard that you've rejected everyone else's request to do an interview?" the spokeswoman started off with a question. Roxas laughed nervously on screen.

"Yeah, but that was before I decided to say what I need to say today."

"Ooo, so you have something to tell us? Maybe something juicy? Your father has been really unresponsive about the whole issue that happened on your twentieth birthday. Will you finally give us what we've been wanting to hear?" Kairi sucked her lips in. _Roxas…_

"Yes, I will."

"Then c'mon, tell us! We're so curious to know." Roxas smiled weakly and he looked directly into the camera. At first, he seemed nervous, but after a few seconds, he straightened up and cleared his throat.

"This may be a little bit shocking to hear, but…"

"Don't tell me you're really going to say it," Kairi whispered to herself, but everyone heard her loud and clear.

"This issue between my father and cousin… it all started because of me," Roxas admitted. The expressions of Namine, Axel, and Riku morphed into a look of confusion as they listened to Roxas. Kairi let out a heavy breath.

"Huh? What does he mean by that?" Kairi couldn't help but recall the conversation she had with Roxas before this whole thing started.

" _You're really going to help Sora out with this?" Kairi asked excitedly as they chatted over some warm hot chocolate in the campus café. Roxas nodded as he rubbed his cold hands together._

" _Well, I already gave you my word, didn't I? Of course, we have to get Sora to cooperate. If he does, then I'll do the best I can." Kairi let out a small yip of victory as she drank her hot chocolate. If Roxas, a person with possibly a huge influence over Keywielders, were to help bring justice for Sora, then they would have a pretty good chance. However, after Kairi's excitement dimmed down, she realized one thing that she didn't even think about before asking for Roxas's assistance._

" _Wait… why would you help us though?" Roxas looked at her questionably._

" _Why wouldn't I? I want the best for Sora too."_

" _But Roxas… what will happen to you if you help us? The CEO of Keywielders is your own father." Roxas shook his head._

" _My dad has gone too far. Well, he had gone too far from the start."_

" _But what will happen to you?" Kairi knew exactly what kind of role Roxas had in Keywielders. For years, she saw news of him working alongside his dad in creating and building Keywielders. She could see all the effort Roxas put into the work as if it was his own. However, at this question, Roxas simply smiled._

" _Kairi, do you want to know something?"_

" _What is it?"_

" _I have gone too far from the start as well." He held the cup in his hand a little bit tighter. "I did wrong too. I shouldn't be spared from whatever is going to happen next." Kairi frowned and shook her head._

" _I want everyone to have a happy ending. There must be another way we can do things so that you won't—"_

" _Kairi—"_

" _I've seen you on the news, Roxas. I've seen your hard work, the effort you put to create something so amazing for the world. I know you and your dad may have started off wrong, but all of it—"_

" _Was never ever mine," Roxas finished for her. Kairi shut her mouth, unable to say anything to that heartbreaking statement. She watched as he started to fiddle with his cup rather violently—he was slowly losing himself to his emotions. "Kairi, none of it was ever mine."_

" _Roxas…"_

" _Everything is Sora's—always had been Sora's. Knowing that it was everything he had that kept him going, I just took it from him Kairi—_ _ **I stole it.**_ _" Roxas's voice started to crack horribly. "All for mere recognition from my father. To be someone my dad could be proud of. I always tried to be the perfect kid for him, but he never really seemed satisfied, so I did what I did based solely on the impulse of stupid teenager. It was because Sora was such a relaxed and goofy kid that I didn't think about the consequences and the severity of my actions, but when I did, it was too late. I watched as Sora deteriorated. The way he looked at me with those cold-turned eyes of his—it made me regret everything. After all of that, I didn't deserve to even make it up to him. I was glad Riku and Axel were there for him, but other than that…"_

" _Gosh," was all Kairi could say as a response that day._

" _That's why I'll make things right, even if it means my own fall."_

"What do you mean by that?" the spokeswoman asked, confused herself. Roxas gave a smile that told Kairi that the burden on his shoulders was slowly getting lifted. _I'm not the same as you, Dad._

"Around five years ago, I stole my cousin's and his father's precious work bit by bit and together with my father, claimed it as our own."

Axel dropped the phone that was in his hand while Namine and Riku leaned in closer to the TV, ears not believing what he just said. Kairi simply continued watching.

Back in Sora's apartment, Sora widened his eyes at Roxas's confession as he watched the TV as well. He grabbed the remote control and turned up the volume.

"This isn't what I told you to say," Sora said to himself as he watched, dumbstruck, at what his cousin was saying. "All I told you to do was confirm that the work was originally my dad's." Sora never planned for anyone's ultimate demise. He just wanted to provoke his uncle, step-by-step, and lure out a valid apology announced to the public that he could be satisfied with. He just wanted his uncle to admit that he had used his own brother's idea originally, and that the greatness of Keywielders wouldn't be anywhere without him. That was it. That was enough to satisfy Sora, but Roxas literally just dropped the hugest bomb that he had planned to use for last—if he was going to use it at all.

There was a fine difference between "use" and "steal." With this, the backlash that Roxas and his father will receive will be great and irreparable.

"It didn't have to be this way."

 _When you're the one who made the mess, it's time for you to clean up the mess._ Axel remembered what Kairi had told Roxas on the day him and Riku spied on them. It all made sense now.

"So that's what you meant…"

 _No, no you're fangirling over the wrong person. I know only a little. If anything, you should talk to someone else if you want to know more, since he did more than me._ Namine started to remember what Roxas had told her all the way back in fall quarter, and it started to all click for her as well.

"So that's why you said that, Roxas."

~.~.~

After the whole interview, Sora and everyone else demanded Roxas's presence, which Roxas gladly gave. All six of them met near the garden of what used to grow the dean's paopu fruit. Roxas, who was still in his formal attire, gave all of them huge waves as greetings as he walked towards them. He was the only one who looked happy out of the six of them.

"What's with the long faces? I thought— _oof!_ "

"Roxas!" Namine shouted out of surprise.

"Sora, what the hell?" Kairi held him back by the arm.

Before Roxas could finish what he had been saying, Sora gave him a nice punch to the face as a greeting.

"Holy fucking shit, I haven't punched anyone in so damn long!" Sora hissed, shouted, and cursed all together as he shook his fist to relieve the pain. Everyone knew that Sora was beyond angry.

"Sora, you didn't have to punch him like that!" Kairi scolded harshly as she continued to hold onto his arm. She knew he wasn't going to do it again, but she was still scared. Roxas felt his jaw with his hand, wincing at the pain before laughing a little bit.

"I guess you didn't like what I did there, did you?"

"I told you what to do, and you did the complete opposite! What the fuck was that, Roxas?"

"I did what was right."

"No, you didn't because—"

"I know you just wanted to protect me and give me a happy ending too, but at the end, you're still too softhearted, Sora." That was the strangest word Kairi ever heard anyone describe Sora with: softhearted. "You're not going to get the response you want from my dad if you continue being so."

"Who ever said I was softhearted?" Sora growled. He looked at Kairi and signaled her to let go, which she did. She backed away and let the two of them continue their feud. Riku and Axel also decided to stay out of it.

"Even though you've told me and others countless of times how much you hated me, deep down, I've always had the feeling that you were still looking out for me somewhat. You confirmed my beliefs with the way you've been executing your actions for the past two weeks." One of Sora's eye twitched once violently; the thing he hated the most about his cousin was his ability to see the good in everyone.

"Is that true?" Kairi asked both Axel and Riku. They were the two who knew Sora more than she did at the moment. Riku sighed as he rubbed a hand over his mouth.

"Probably. If that is what Roxas says, then it's true."

"What did you think Sora had been planning to do all along?" Axel asked her, probing her to think about it a little bit more. "Think about Sora and his personality. Do you think he would be that heartless to ruin everything Roxas and his dad had been building for five years just for revenge? We're talking about a company that has nearly a worldwide influence here. One of the biggest advancement towards virtual reality."

"Well, it's hard to even shut Keywielders down at this point—it'll be too unrealistic if Sora tried to aim that high," Namine said, deciding to put in her two cents as well. "What Sora is trying to do is—"

"—avoid as much as damage inflicted on Roxas and his uncle as much as he could while getting the apology and recognition he wants," Kairi finished for her, finally realizing everything a little bit too late. When Sora said he wanted an apology, he truly did just want an apology—nothing else.

"I had to do what I did for more impact," Roxas explained. "I had to."

"What impact? Didn't we already make a huge impact already at your banquet?" Sora refuted, not understanding his cousin's vision at all. "If we had just continued a little bit more, then your father would've succumbed under the pressure from the media and the public and—"

"The future and what could've been can never be known," Roxas repeated once more. "Sora, you're really a genius, I admit that, but you've forgotten to account something important. I don't blame you since a lot has been going on and it only happens once every two years." Sora was beyond confused.

"What? Every two years? What happens every two—" Sora stopped in the middle of his sentence, and a dead silence passed through all of them before Sora surprised everyone with a curse and a harsh kick at the dirt beneath him.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Kairi asked nervously.

"Damn!"

"The Keyblade Wars," Namine half-whispered, as if realizing that fact herself. "Ugh, that's why his uncle hasn't been saying anything." It took Axel to figure out what Roxas meant before hardening his jaw.

"You're right, the Keyblade Wars." Riku, who was a bit slow, didn't get what made everyone so grave.

"What about the Keyblade Wars? It's the big Keyblading competition that happens every two years, right?"

"Yeah, it's really big," Sora said as he started chuckling. This made everyone feel uneasy. "A really, _really_ big event that happens every other spring equinox where almost the whole world watches and participates in."

"You see why I had to do that?" Roxas finally said. "I know I didn't do what you wanted me to do, but, yeah."

"I'm so confused. So what if the Keyblade Wars are happening?" Riku interjected. He felt a little bit dumb that everyone kind of got the gist of what was happening except him.

"It means who gives a shit about Sora anymore when you got some high-quality action-packed virtual reality goodness coming up soon?" Axel phrased loosely for him. "No one's going to really care about the drama happening between Sora and his uncle—they're all just going to focus their attention on the battles between the top Keyblade Wielders from all around the world."

"That's why my dad has been stretching this issue on so long without saying anything," Roxas explained some more. "He's waiting for the issue to be washed away by the excitement of the upcoming Keyblade War."

"I should've thought this through more," Sora said regretfully as he calmed down. Everything was crashing down on him a little bit too much. "I can't believe I forgot about the Keyblade Wars. I was ignorant."

"It's okay. We can still be successful before the Keyblade Wars start. This is a crucial time period," Roxas encouraged. "That's why I did what I did today. I'm sorry."

"You think we can still do something before the Keyblade Wars begin, Roxas?" Kairi asked, seeing the look of determination in Roxas. He nodded.

"It's a ridiculously small thing, a tactic that has been used by everyone since forever, but it can really turn the tables. I never thought I would have to use it against my own dad… but if I have to, then I have to."

From his pocket, Roxas took out a recorder.

* * *

yeah, i just went to the dentist and found out my filling broke aka big cavity underneath so this is depressed me writing this chapter before i possibly get a root canal enjoy :'))))))

p.s. reason why i'm writing so much is because i have to go back to college on sunday so i'm trying guys i'm trying xddd


	23. Chapter 23

"Roxas, I'm telling you right now, if you give that recording to anyone underneath my nose, I'm never going to talk to you again."

"But Sora, you should listen to what's insi—"

"Don't 'but' me. I'm not going to listen to it because we are not going to use this, you fool." Kairi watched as Sora took the recorder out of Roxas's hands, examined it, and surprised everyone by throwing it onto the ground and stepping on it. A huge inhale was heard from Roxas as he processed what his younger cousin just did.

"Sora!"

"You don't know how much damage is going to be done once that somehow leaks, don't you?" Sora hissed. "You're sacrificing a little bit too much when you don't need to, so just shut up and stay quiet while I figure things out."

"But the Keyblade Wars—"

"We _will_ do something before the Keyblade Wars start, something that doesn't involve a recording. It seems like you don't understand what kind of position you're in. The moment there's full-proof evidence of that _gimmick_ you just pulled on TV, it's over for you. This isn't me being soft-hearted—this is me with a heart while I still have it."

"Roxas… I have to agree with Sora," Namine jumped in, stepping up. Roxas's eyes flew over to Namine in surprise. Suddenly feeling awkward for bringing her gentle voice in the middle of two fierce ones, Namine rubbed her arm as she addressed him. "There's definitely other ways we could do this without having to sacrifice you." Sora knew she was just saying it to say it, but he thanked her mentally anyway.

"Before the Keyblade Wars?"

"Look, we'll figure it out, okay? We will." Sora sounded very confident, and it actually brought a lot of reassurance to everyone who listened to him. However, deep down, Sora wasn't sure how much of his words were actually going to be true. He talked big, yes he did, and maybe he shouldn't have since reality needed to be met. He didn't have a back-up plan, and that recording Roxas brought up could've solved everything, but…

He just couldn't go down that path.

Whether he liked it or not, he _had_ to find another way before the Keyblade Wars began.

 _But what?_

"Let's just go eat dinner, shall we? I'm getting kind of hungry," Riku proposed all of sudden. He laughed sheepishly as he played with the zipper of his jacket. He knew the two needed a breather to calm themselves down. "Real hungry."

~.~.~

The six of them were currently at an all-you-can-eat buffet to temporarily relieve all the stress they've been feeling for the past week by stuffing themselves. It had been Roxas's idea, who adorned a large swollen jaw right smack on his face. He had gotten Sora's apology, but he couldn't help but admire how strong Sora could be.

"Axel, I'm a strong advocate of no food waste. The moment that tower of watermelon slices topples over, oh ho ho, you're not going to like me," Riku said as he shook his head at the flame-haired. Axel simply stuck his tongue out as he tried to put a chocolate cake on top of his tower of watermelon.

"You're almost twenty-one, Axel," Sora bluntly stated, suggesting many things about Axel's maturity.

"… And?"

"Jesus." It didn't help when his chocolate cake, which was momentarily suspended in the air, fell off sideways, along with a couple of watermelon pieces, onto Sora's lap, who immediately scooted his chair away from the table.

"Fuck, I had it, dude, I had it!"

"Holy moogles, Axel, I'm going to make sure you never see the light of day for as long as I live," Sora said through clenched teeth as he felt the liquid of the watermelon sweeping into his _white_ pants. Riku looked at his fork, looked at the watermelon on Sora's lap, and stabbed a piece with the fork.

"Hm, yum," Riku commented. He did it again. "These watermelons sure are crispy. What a waste."

"Never did I think I would see the day someone would use Sora's thighs as a fruit plate," Roxas mused, watching as Sora threw the chocolate cake back down on Axel's plate with a soft splat. Riku was about to stab some of the chocolate cake on his thigh, but Sora slapped his hand away.

"You're creeping me out, dude, stop."

"I'm an advocate of no food wa—"

"We get it, so stop." Riku pouted before putting his fork down on the table and gave Sora a few napkins.

"Is this what they do during dessert time?" Namine asked Kairi, who simply shrugged as she watched the trio's fiasco.

"Don't ask me, sis."

"So, Sora. What do you plan on doing? You said you were going to find a way, and you sounded pretty confident too. What are you thinking of?" Roxas asked, finally bringing the dire topic back onto the table. Sora had hoped that Roxas wouldn't ask so soon. _But I guess this issue is important to him just as much as its important to me._ Sighing, Sora opened his mouth to speak, but the ring of Kairi's phone stopped him. She quickly took it out to see who was calling but was met with a completely unknown number.

"If it's an unknown number, then don't pick it up," Namine simply stated, peeking over. "Shady advertisers these days."

"It's from Destiny Islands though," Kairi said as she furrowed her eyebrows. "Hm." Kairi turned away to answer the phone, which left the attention back on Sora.

"Well, I think that—"

"Vanitas, what the fuck?" That name was enough to trigger both Sora and Namine as they shot their eyes towards Kairi.

"What the fuck?" both Sora and Namine said simultaneously.j

"Nami, it seems like you know that guy too," Sora muttered as he continued to glare at Kairi, who had yet to notice the stares she was getting from him and her sister. Namine nodded.

"Seems like you're quite acquainted yourself. And it's Namine."

" _Psst_ , who's Vanitas?" Riku asked as he jabbed Sora's side with his elbow repeatedly. Sora swatted his elbow away and leaned against his seat when Kairi took a moment to turn herself to the other side so that she could talk clearer into the phone.

"Her hot ex-boyfriend," Sora answered shortly and curtly. None of them knew if Sora was irritated or not, since he didn't let it show, and it was really easy to detect when Sora was irritated since, well, he always was.

Although, Sora wasn't Kairi's boyfriend or anything, so he shouldn't get too upset.

Riku blinked rapidly.

"Oh," he let out stupidly. "Well, he can't be as hot as me, rig—god fucking—Axel, I will seriously cut you." Axel had kicked Riku underneath the table, and with a zip motion near his mouth, signaled for Riku to shut up if he knew what was good for him.

"I wonder why he's calling," Namine said with a slightly dark tone, rolling her sleeves up. Roxas watched innocently at everything, curious about what was going on as he played with the straw in his cup. _Namine's cute when she gets mad._

"You called me as a last resort because Sora didn't answer his phone?" At this, Kairi turned back around and looked at Sora, whose unknown expression morphed into one of absolute confusion.

"Excuse fucking me?" he couldn't help but blurt out. Kairi had a super morbid look on her face as well as she continued talking to her supposedly-hot ex-boyfriend on the phone.

"Uh… yeah… yeah, yeah, he is…" Kairi signaled with her eyes to check his phone, which Sora quickly did. However, it freaked him out even more when it was _Aqua_ who called him.

"I have a crap ton of missed calls from Aqua, not… _Vanitas._ " That name was foreign to his mouth as it slipped between his lips. However, he wouldn't want to say it again. Catching the hint that this wasn't a problem between her and Vanitas, Kairi turned back to her seat to face everyone once more.

"Uh, Van," Sora's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly—she sure sounded friendly with him, calling him just by his nickname. "Mind if I—oh, no no, you're alright, you're good. I was just caught slightly by surprise since—yeah, we can, we can later." This time, everyone could see the flames that were now clearly visible atop Sora's head as he drummed his fingers on the table agitatedly.

"What does 'later' mean?" he muttered to himself.

"Mind if I put you on speaker?" Noise was heard on the line before Kairi covered her speaker and turned her attention towards everyone. "I don't know why, but my, er, _friend_ has something to explain to me, and I think everyone should hear it too." She didn't know how Sora had already identified to everyone who she was talking to.

"Oh, am I already on speaker?" The moment he spoke, Riku swore his eyes bulged out for a nanosecond, landed on the table, and got sucked back in as he stared at the phone that was now in the center of the table.

"His voice is deep as fuck—deeper than mine!" he hissed to Axel. "I think I got competition here, 'cause that's one sexy ass voice! Sora, you gotta give me a pic of hi—"

"God damn it, Axel!" Sora let out a sound of pain as he felt his leg get kicked by the flame-head. Realizing he kicked the wrong person, Axel winced.

"Sorry, dude, it's just that my nervous system—"

"Play footsies with Riku when I'm not in between you guys."

"Though, I got to admit—that voice is smokin' hot." Axel wasn't any better than Riku as he let out a low-whistle. And they thought Sora couldn't hear the two of them at all as he sat right stack in the middle of them.

"I heard my name," Sora started to speak as he leaned in closer to the phone.

"Ah, Sora. Thanks for last time at the airport," Vanitas began politely. Sora always found it weird that despite his roughed-up, bad-boy image, he always sounded soft-spoken and polite. "Did you ever get the orange soda cleaned up?"

"If I didn't, I think the bugs would've started crawling and I would be forever feeling like glue. Did you ever find your room down the hall?"

"Uh, yeah, I did. Thanks." Namine raised an eyebrow at Kairi as she communicated with her sister through telepathic means.

 _When was your boy ever friendly with your old boy?_ Kairi shrugged.

 _How should I know? I have no idea what they're talking about._

"Sorry for suddenly calling. It was 'cause you weren't picking up Aqua's calls."

"You know Aqua?" Sora questioned, a little bit perturbed with all the coincidences.

"Yeah, I do. We knew each other back at Destiny Islands and we're pretty close, but uh, that's not the point."

"Go on."

"I saw you on the news. Well, uh, my friend Ventus saw you on the news, if you remember who he is." Sora frowned.

"Ventus…" He glanced at Roxas and then nodded. He realized that Vanitas couldn't see him and said, "Yes, I do remember him kind of."

"Kai, do you remember Terra?" _And he calls her Kai too._

"Who the what?"

"I guess you don't remember anyone that day, do you? Well, you met him before, at the mixer where we saw each other." Kairi frowned and dug in her brain for this Terra guy Vanitas was talking about before a light bulb lit above her head.

"The guy who sings like a dying goat! Yeah, I remember him."

"Terra? A dying goat? Oh, that's gold!" said another voice that was not Vanitas.

"And that was Ventus. I put you guys on speaker too. Terra would be joining but he's actually at Twilight Town too, so maybe you could meet him one day." The more Vanitas kept saying Terra's and Ventus's name, something kept trying to click in Sora, but he couldn't lay a finger on it. _Terra and Ventus, Terra and Ventus…_ "Anyway, I'm really sorry for the unexpected call, but it was important to contact—okay, why am I the one explaining everything? Ven, take over."

"Hey guys. Sorry, Kairi, for invading your phone. Remember me?"

"Not really, but Van mentioned you before."

"Ho, ho, great, great. Yeah, so Sora, I see the war going on between your uncle and you. I see what he's doing."

"Yeah, you do?" Sora asked cautiously. What was up with this guy? He was speaking as if they were all rowing the same boat. He was getting beyond confused as they started talking about him and his uncle.

"Definitely should do something before the Keyblade Wars start," he said knowingly. "Or else it'll just get harder." Sora's expression hardened—what did this guy know?

"Who are you?" Sora immediately questioned, already getting bad vibes. Axel's and Riku's joking halted as they sensed how the mood went downhill quick. Roxas's innocent watch quickly turned into a slight frown as he leaned in closer to hear what was going on. "What do you know?"

"Haha, I want to see you, is that okay? I'm surprised you didn't recognize me the first time you saw me at the airport—I guess you just don't pay attention a lot, do you? Maybe you'll recognize me if you get another good look at my face. How fun!" Kairi found it amusing that Vanitas somehow found a best friend in a hoppy guy like this. Kairi accepted the video call request, slightly at edge to see Vanitas so soon, but kept it in for Sora. Riku and Axel got excited as they leaned in closer to the screen while Sora's mind flew his thoughts at a lightning-quick pace. This guy definitely could change their whole course of action—there must've been a big reason for him to contact Sora.

Vanitas and Ventus appeared, side by side, as they sat at some table. It looked like they were in some sort of apartment as the LED lights clearly reflected their image on the video call. Ventus was in a simple blue dress shirt while Vanitas wore a long-sleeved black v-neck, modestly showing the pecs that he had. Kairi gave an awkward wave to the both of them before she turned the phone over to the other side of the table to face Sora, Riku, and Axel. Riku and Axel tried their hardest not to make a sound.

"That guy is a fucking _smokin'_ hot bacon with eggs," Axel whispered to everyone rather harshly, as if not believing what he was seeing. He shot a look at Kairi, who embarrassingly just scratched her cheek with a finger. "Dude, don't tell me I'm the only one that thinks he's a totally, ridiculously hot bad-boy."

"Axel, this is why people think you're gay for Roxas," Riku shot, earning a small laugh from Roxas, who was very aware of the rumors circulating around.

"It's okay. People acknowledge that Axel and I love each other," Roxas humored, giving a small smile. "What could be so bad?" Axel sniffed, jokingly wiped his nose, and went over to Roxas's side of the table to give him a huge hug.

"I love you, baby!"

"Guys, shut up," Sora cut in. "We're all waiting for you to quiet down, you know."

"Sorry," they all said unanimously.

"Oh, there's more people then I thought there was. Are you guys eating? Oh gosh, sorry! Oh, hey, did I hear a mention of Roxas? Yes, yes, I would like to talk to him too." Riku and Roxas switched places so that Roxas would be right next to Sora.

"Kairi, I know you like Sora and all, but damn, your ex-boyfriend is _steaming._ " Riku whispered to Kairi, who already had enough of Vanitas for the day. She sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"W-who said I liked Sora?" Kairi stuttered. "But keep that up, Riku, and people will think you're going gay too. No hate or anything, I'm completely fine with a gay Riku, but—"

"I dig the girls, man. If anything, the only guy I'll go gay for is Sora."

"You say that anywhere else outside this very table, and it's the end for you, Riku," Sora said as he heard every single word they were saying. Riku and Axel were truly not good at whispering. He then looked at the screen and studied Ventus's facial features—which, still, were creepily similar to Roxas's—before shaking his head. "You look like my cousin, and your name rings a very faint bell somewhere, but I think that's just my mind playing tricks. I don't know who you are."

"Wow, you really must not pay attention. I'm pretty sure Roxas knows me though." It was Roxas's turn to look at Ventus—he was momentarily distracted by Vanitas—and it took Roxas a while before he got it.

"No way, no way!" Sora leaned over to his side away from Roxas and stared wide-eyed at him as he let out a sound that was scarily similar to that of a fanboy. "Ventus Airius! Is that really you?" Ventus pushed Vanitas away slightly so that he could hog the camera and put his face close up as he saluted.

"Yo, bingo!"

"Ventus Airius?" Sora said with a slight frown. And then it finally clicked. "Ventus Airius and Terra Gio," he whispered, his turn now to be amazed.

"Ooo, ho ho, Sora's got it too! I knew you had it in you."

Never before, in Kairi's whole entire lifetime, had she ever seen her sister just jump out of her chair, squeal like her life depended on it, and acted so wildly as she went over to Roxas's side, squished him as she tried to look into the camera, and squealed some more. Roxas blushed heavily as Namine just crushed his side.

"Ventus Airius! You gotta be kidding me! Is it really you?" Namine swiftly spoke, excitement just running through her like a bullet train. Vanitas smiled and waved awkwardly at her, but she barely even gave him the time of day as her eyes zoomed in on Ventus. Kairi snickered as she saw Roxas's expression fall slightly.

"Aw, what a cute girl. Heyo!" Ventus waved at her, which made her scream so much that one of the buffet workers had to come over and politely shush her.

"Do you know who this Ventus guy is?" Riku asked Kairi, sensing that he wasn't the only one who had no clue who this bigshot was. "Because I got no single clue."

"Hey, me neither. Don't ask me," Kairi muttered as she watched all three of them ogle her phone as if it gave them life.

"Ventus Airius, the guy who won gold in the U-25 second Keyblade War two years ago," Axel explained to them, who was also interested as he glanced at the phone. Axel wasn't a big fan of watching the Keyblade Wars, but he was aware enough to know the guys on the high rise. "Handsome, young, talented, funny—he's got it all, dude."

"Aw, don't say that. You guys are making me blush." Kairi heard Ventus say. "You should've seen me in my first Keyblade War. Hot stuff indeed."

"You participated in the first one too?" Sora asked, very interested in Ventus now. "Are you participating in the third one?"

"Of course," Ventus grinned. "'Cause the virtual field is where I belong." Sora blinked. He could understand the first Keyblade War—the sport wasn't as popular as before. But now that it has skyrocketed, to be able to participate in the second one and even the third one was incredible; Ventus must had great skill. "But hey, I didn't call you just to boast!"

"What business do you have with me?"

"A lot!" Vanitas could be seen pinching his eyebrows together as he muttered, "Just get to the point, my phone battery is running out."

" _Pfft_ , just charge it, dummy. The charger is right there." Kairi raised an eyebrow; Vanitas must've also gone through a road of purification if he were to allow someone to talk to him like that.

"Yeah, yeah."

"So like, I got important stuff to say. I think you'd like to hear what I got in store."

~.~.~

Kairi had been texting on her phone for the whole drive back to her dorm, and it was a no-brainer to figure out who she was texting. Sora gripped his steering wheel as he kept quiet out of politeness—that was the least he could as a bystander. It was what he would've done too months back.

But now that he was her boyfriend, for goodness sakes, he wasn't too sure anymore.

"Want to spend time at my apartment?" Kairi looked up at him as he kept his eyes on the streets. She looked at the time and got confused.

"Um, it's kind of late though."

"It's a Friday." Sora sure was being assertive, Kairi thought. She hadn't spent time with him at all since the birthday banquet, so she thought it would be nice to finally have some time together.

"Sure."

Vanitas had kept it short in his text messages. He had dumped his "girlfriend" real good to the curb, which was why he had the guts to contact Kairi, and changed his phone number. Other then saying sorry for calling of a sudden, he didn't really say anything else.

 _Hope things turn out well for Sora_ , was the last thing he said before he stopped texting. Kairi smiled at Vanitas's total change in personality. She could tell his attitude still held strong underneath by the way he kept sighing as Ventus spoke, but it got a lot, lot better.

 _Hope things go well for you too van_

"We're here." Kairi didn't know time passed that fast as she unbuckled my seatbelt. Getting off and going through the garage door to go inside his apartment, she didn't expect his strong pair of arms to just circle around her waist the moment they took a step inside.

"Eek! Sora!" Kairi accidentally half-yelped, half-laughed as she balanced herself.

"I'm annoyed," he said into the crook of her neck. Kairi felt her heart race once more—she wasn't quite used to the fact that Sora was her boyfriend just yet, but he sure had. They hadn't told anyone about their relationship yet either since everything has been so hectic for Sora and Roxas.

"Why are you annoyed, silly?" She smiled as they walked as one unit towards the kitchen. He didn't let go at all as she took the water pitcher off the counter and poured herself a glass of water. "You're so cute."

"Are you sure you're over your hot ex-boyfriend?"

"Are you sure you're over Xion?" she shot back. He kept quiet at that and let out a sound of complaint as he let her go.

"Are you really going to play that card with me?"

"Then don't think weird things, idiot." Kairi drank her water while Sora went upstairs to go change his clothes. He came back down clad in black sweatpants and a plain white long-sleeve.

"Didn't your heart go pitty-patty just a little bit though?" he continued to question. Kairi tried not to chuckle—jealous Sora was adorable. "Seems like his personality got a lot better too compared to his high school self. Don't wanna go back running into his arms or anything?"

"What a little imaginative noggin you have." They went over to sit down at the sofa, where Sora naturally hung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to his side. Sipping her water, she comfortably snuggled to his side and sighed.

"What an unexpected turn of events, isn't it?" With his other hand, Sora fixed his hair.

"Tell me about it."

"I bet you didn't have any plan whatsoever before Ventus called."

"You sure love to rat me out, don't you?" Sora admitted as he scrolled through his phone. "Caught me red-handed. What now, are you going to call me lame this time?"

"Hm, quite the opposite," Kairi mused as she put the glass of water back on the little table in front of them. "You have quite the voice for convincing people. If I didn't know anything about the dire situation, I would've actually believed that you had another plan after you smashed Roxas's recording. You sure you won't regret that?"

"Naw. I'm a man of honor—I do things the right way."

"As if."

"Trying to challenge me, aren't you?" Sora shifted in his seat so that he could face Kairi. He studied her pretty facial features and narrowed his eyes slightly. "You really did date a bad-boy."

"Oh my fucking gosh, Van _again?_ " When Sora was jealous, he had a hard time letting things go, it seemed. "I never knew you were the jealous type like this."

"Well, I already told you I'm pretty damn possessive, didn't I?" Sora squeezed her cheek. "And stop calling him 'Van.' That sense of closeness makes me uncomfortable."

"Dude, it's like calling someone named Nicholas 'Nick.' What is your problem?" Kairi laughed as she slapped his hand away. "You're oddly obsessed with him, aren't you? Don't tell me you fell for my ex."

"What a little imaginative noggin you have," he repeated after her. Kairi admired Sora's good looks as they talked. The shirt he had on did justice to the muscles that he had underneath. She never saw him go work out before, but he must've been captain of the swim team for a reason. His tan skin from swimming was outrageously attractive, and his hair, despite it's spiky outlook, was incredibly soft to touch. She was never going to admit it because it might add more to his ego, but Sora matched her ideals more than Vanitas ever did. Smart, cute, athletic, funny—oh, she could go on.

"And where do you think you're touching?"

"I want to see if my scrawny looking boyfriend has any abs." She poked him in the stomach. _Rock hard, me like._ Sora surprised her when he suddenly took her hand and shoved it underneath his shirt.

"Feel all you want, don't be shy," he said with a smirk. Kairi quickly took her hand away and flushed.

"You're freaking smooth, aren't you?" Kairi hadn't noticed this before but…

Sora seemed like he was used to girls. Unlike her, who was always jumpy whenever she was around him, he seemed completely composed and unfazed. Shouldn't he be all nervous and cute as well? "How many girlfriends have you had?" she blurted out without thinking. Sora raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"And why do you ask?" _Oh, he's totally avoiding the question._ Kairi shot an eyebrow up as well.

"And why are you not answering?"

"Because, idiot, you should already know the answer."

"I do?" Sora looked at her as if she grew three heads.

"Unless you have some sort of instant memory loss… then yes you do."

"It's just Xion?"

"… are you trying to make fun of me?"

"No, of course not! It's just that…" Kairi felt embarrassed as she looked away from him. "You're not really… nervous or anything. We're here… alone… in your apartment." Getting the hint of what she was suggesting, Sora chuckled and leaned his elbow against the sofa, facing her side. She shifted in her seat so that she could face him.

"I was nervous as heck when I confessed, idiot. Now, not so much."

"Why?"

" _Pfft_ , 'cause I got the girl already." This earned him a nice slap on the arm. "Ouch! You know I'm just joking, geez."

"Haha, I'm laughing because it's so darn funny," Kairi deadpanned, staring right into him with a stone face. However, her expression broke when he started to play with both her cheeks.

"It's because you've been someone special since the start, you smarty," he confessed, loosening his hold on her cheeks to cup her face. "You smarty, big-mouthed, little idio—"

"Oh, you're getting real romantic."

"Glad I could charm you. But to be serious here, you're just really fun to be with. You're not just my girl now—you've always been someone I could call a friend. Maybe that's why I'm a little bit more relaxed than you."

"I'm actually not trying to attack you here, just curious, but how were you like when you were with Xion?"

"You're going to trigger me the more you mention her. But uh," he rubbed his neck awkwardly, as if reluctant to say, "If I were to use one word to describe the me back then, then it would be 'different.'"

"I would ask you what you mean by that, but I think I already know the answer."

"Yup. I mean, the change in me was gradual in my perspective, but if you were to ask any of my friends, they would call it the Sora-asshole transformation. I know Riku and Axel wants to see the me back in high school again, but…"

"You've changed," Kairi finished for him. Sora sighed and nodded.

"What can you do. This is Sora Hikari now. I'm not what I used to be. I guess you can say I developed a heart made out of steel. Things don't phase me as much as it used to anymore, including… relationships. But that doesn't mean my sincerity has changed." Sora leaned forward and met his forehead with hers. "I like you a lot, if you need me to say it in words. I can say it as many times as you like."

"I guess I can accept that sort of answer," Kairi giggled as she pecked him quickly on the cheek. "But you know, I would like to see cute Sora from time to time as well."

"Well, you already kind of activated him." He took her hand and placed it on his chest. She widened her eyes—his heartbeat was racing. "You affect me in more ways than one." A slight blush adorned his cheeks as he looked at her. "Many, many ways."

"Hehe, cute." Kairi flung herself at him, wrapping her arms effectively around his neck. He smiled and hugged her back, reveling in the feeling of her soft body against his. He never thought he could feel like this again, and he knew that this feeling was going to last for a while. _I want it to last forever._ But he definitely wasn't going to let her know that just yet. "When did you start liking me?"

"Ooo, that's a good question."

"And it shouldn't be a hard question."

"Well, I thought you were really pretty when I first saw you."

"Like, flying-off-the-skateboard pretty?"

"Okay, not at that moment. At that moment, I thought you were just—"

"I know you're going to say something bad, so just don't even say it."

"If that is what you want." Sora pulled away and smiled at her, making her stomach flutter. "But if I were to answer seriously, I think I started to become interested back when you were still my servant." This fact greatly surprised Kairi.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You were refreshing—your weirdness was the part I always found cute about you. You always made me laugh with your antics, and yada yada. Enter more cheesy lines here."

"You just hate being romantic, don't you?"

"I like to show my romance through actions rather than words—isn't that how the game is played?" Sora pulled her closer by her waist so that she could sit on his lap.

"Hm, then let's play."

"How about in my room?" he whispered. She definitely knew what he was talking about, and before she could answer, he had already stood up, holding her by her thighs.

"Wait, I'm quite heavy, and—"

"You're not lying when you say you're heavy," he muttered as he stumbled. She squealed when he rammed her against the wall by accident. "All those guys who say their girl is as light as a feather—they're fucking lying. No such phenomenon exists."

"Hey, that hurt!" she complained, hanging on to him for dear life. Disregarding her complaints completely, he smashed his mouth to hers, effectively shutting her up in the process. Kairi immediately closed her eyes and kissed him back, already lost in his embrace as he climbed up the stairs. Their kiss was broken many times with laughs and giggles as he tried hopelessly not to tumble down the stairs to their deaths.

Kicking the door to his room open, he staggered and fell down on the bed with her. He didn't let her let out a sound of surprise as he continued kissing her, trapping her beneath his body. For a second, Kairi wondered where he got these kissing skills from—because he was _good_ —but the thought flew out the window when he deepened their kiss even further.

"Sora," she gasped, and he took that opportunity to shyly touch his tongue with hers.

"Oh, that feels weird," Sora commented, suddenly pulling away. Kairi gave him a confused look as he hovered over her.

"What feels weird?" Sora opened his mouth but closed it again as he struggled to form words.

"Nothing." He leaned down to kiss her again, and this time, he didn't stop. When he slowly crept a hand underneath her shirt, it was her time to stop.

"You're a really good kisser…" Kairi said this time, suddenly starting to feel insecure. "Were you always one?"

"Well, I haven't really made out with anyone before, so we're testing it now as we speak." Kairi blinked and pulled away.

"Wait, really?" Sora sat up so that she could sit up. He looked at her innocently, and even did a head tilt like a little curious child.

"What do you mean, 'really'?"

"But you had a girlfriend before." This was freaking hot Sora Hikari they were talking about here. Girls must've swarmed him like moths to a candle—she didn't even need to ask him because she just _knew_. And here he was, acting like a high schooler who was having his first kiss.

"Doesn't mean I was intimate with that girlfriend," he muttered, crossing his legs on the bed and looking away. Sora's cuteness just skyrocketed past the limit as Kairi stared at him with amazement.

"You're more innocent than you look."

"And you're more experienced than you look."

"Ugh, just shut up." Sora shyly got closer to her and captured her in another kiss. Pulling back, he bit his bottom lip and smiled a small smile.

"I like it a lot though."

"What? Kissing?"

"No, being with you." Sora had said that the old him did not exist anymore, but Kairi saw differently. Sometimes, rarely, she could see the goofy, happy Sora resurface, despite how much he denied it. "Kill me for saying this now, but I'm really glad I met you, Kairi. I can honestly say that you changed my life."

"What an exaggeration, but you're welcome. I'm glad I met you too, Sora. Really." Just when the mood was flowing well, Kairi's phone rang. Sora frowned.

"Who's calling at this time?" Sora asked, peeking over to see who it was. He frowned—it was an alarm set for one in the morning. "Why in the world do you have an alarm set at this time?" Kairi turned it off and stretched her arms over head before answering.

"Girl gotta set her own curfew, you know."

"… excuse me? Curfew?" Kairi looked at him and nodded.

"Of course. A maiden can't stay for too long at her boyfriend's, am I right?" She cocked an eyebrow up. "You're driving me back to my dorm, right?"

"…"

"…"

"Why don't you just sleep over?" Kairi gasped and shook her head.

"No can do! Drive me back, idiot. Namine's waiting for me, so." Sora smiled, humoring her, but inside, he was actually at disbelief. _This girl has a lot of self-control…_

No wonder Vanitas never got her.

 _And I don't think I will get her either._ Sora laughed lightly at this. _But I guess this is why I like her._

"You're creeping me out with that smile of yours."

"Sure, I'll drive you back. Wait, can I try one thing though?"

"Hm? Uh, sure." Kairi did not know what he planned, but she didn't have time to ponder about it when she felt his cold hand suddenly slip underneath the back of her shirt. In one swift movement, he unhooked her bra.

"Whoa, that was easier than I expected." Kairi slapped his hand away and dropped her jaw on the ground. She quickly re-hooked it and shot him a very, very, _very_ accusing look, but she couldn't stop the warmness from spreading all over her face.

"W-w-what was that all about? Consent, Sora, consent!"

"No, it's just that Riku told me that bras were the shittiest things ever to unhook, and that I was a real man if I could do it with one hand."

"…"

"…"

"Just freaking drive me home."

"Roger."

~.~.~

One week later, the Keyblade Wars began.

* * *

i'm writing a romance fic and i can't write romance to save my life so sorry guys xD anyways hope you guys enjoy this. hopping on an 8 hour bus ride tomorrow so weeee college is fun

insecure about this fic because it's definitely becoming something i did not plan to write LOL it's kind of going all over the place so i have a lot to learn still, but hope you guys still like the mess!

plus it's called mending strands for a reason :')))))

anyway i keep updating at late night should stop hehehehehhe

But to be serious here, this is the end of my quick updating (update every 2-3 days) hopefully I can chug out a chapter ever week/week and a half, but it'll depend. I have a high school like schedule in college + classes at the night time so lolololololol #teamnosleep #freetimewhereyouat


	24. Chapter 24

"Do you think he can do it?"

"Who knows? It's not like I can see the future."

"But what do you think? What happens if he doesn't?"

"Haha, if he doesn't, we're screwed."

"Don't say that!" Sora and Riku jumped from Namine's sudden outcry. Kairi pinched her eyebrows together; her sister had a lot of things—nerdy things—she was interested, and Kairi thought she knew all of them.

Oh no, she didn't.

 _Who knew Namine could fangirl over some dude?_

"Hey, don't feel too down," Kairi snickered as she nudged Roxas with her elbow. He simply let out a stifled sound at the action and glumly swirled his coffee with a spoon. "The guy looks like you, doesn't he? That means something, dude. The stars shine their hope on you."

"Wow, that makes me feel awesome. Am I supposed to find consolation in that?" Roxas shot back. _Wow, someone's having a grumpy morning._ Kairi rolled her eyes at the sensitive blonde as she returned her attention back to the four people at Sora's sofa. While Roxas and Kairi chilled at the table in the kitchen, Sora, Riku, Namine, and Axel had their eyes glued on Sora's laptop. Interest hit all of them as they searched up past videos of Ventus's performances. Kairi opted out on the whole fiasco of the ah's and the ooo's. Roxas didn't participate for obvious reasons—he wasn't sure if he would feel good to watch someone that looked like him did awesome stuff while he was just sitting duck in reality.

"Holy shit, the arenas built for the Keyblade wars are no damn joke," Axel whistled as he watched Ventus slide on "ice." In reality, it was just a moving conveyor belt beneath their feet as they battled in the simulated field. "I would give a million bucks to see myself in this type of recording."

"You'd probably injure yourself, if anything," Sora muttered. Although, Sora had to admit—what he was seeing impressed him. He was never interested in anything relating to the Keyblade Wars, since he refused to see it for obvious reasons. Now that he was, however, he couldn't believe how much Keywielders have put into it.

"They gotta be highly trained not only to wield the Keyblade but to operate in the arena," Riku commented as he watched Ventus jump on a boat to skid across the body of water and avoid the opponent's fire spells. He winced when the opponent did thunder magic towards the water. "Hey Roxas, I think you would know—what's the minimum pain percentage for the Keyblade War?" Ears perked as his name, Roxas looked over and gave it a thought.

"If I remember correctly, I think it has to be at least thirty or fourty percent."

"Ouch. Count in actual pain felt when you trip or get hit by the opponent," Sora added, having found new admiration for the people who participated in this rather mild—no, _highly_ —violent sport. "Those protective gears don't look too..."

"Protective…" Axel finished. They all let out a sound of pain themselves when they watched Ventus give his opponent a good smack on the side with the back of his Keyblade. "Never mind. I take my one million bucks statement back. Yo boy ain't gonna end up with one thousand fractures to his body at the end of the day."

After a few more videos, Sora called an end to it and closed his laptop with a soft shut. Heaving a large sigh, he leaned back into his sofa and began entering deep thought.

"I think Ventus could do it," Namine offered. "That is, if he—"

"Makes a huge commotion out of it," Axel interrupted her. She gave him a side glare but simply let it go. "I don't know. Since he is a person with such a great reputation, it's great that we can just sit there and just watch for the result to happen, but…"

"We can't do anything about it. It all rests on Ventus. All luck. That is what makes me feel uncomfortable," Sora grumbled. "We don't even know what his intentions are, let alone calculate how it's all going to turn out. It's iffy."

"If it's iffy, just discuss it with him straight out tomorrow when he comes to Twilight Town," Kairi interjected from her table, earning all four pairs of eyes to shoot towards her and Roxas. "Just ask."

"Hm, sounds so easy, doesn't it?" Sora sarcastically responded. Kairi felt her eyebrow twitch. Even if Sora was now her boyfriend, it didn't mean that the way he regarded her before suddenly vanished. Oh no, annoying, irritating, sardonic Sora was still there with all of his glory.

"Eh, I'm siding with Kairi on this one," Roxas supported her as he continued to sullenly mix his hot chocolate around. _Just drink the damn thing already_ , Kairi thought. "I don't know about you, but I think it takes a lot for some guy, who could care less about what is going on during such an important time for him, to contact you all the way from Destiny Islands through Kairi's _ex-boyfriend_." He emphasized the last part, as if everyone seemed to forget about that fact. "C'mon, if I had an ex-girlfriend—"

"Roxas and ex-girlfriend, _pfft_ ," Axel snorted obnoxiously, causing Roxas to blush lightly.

"I'm just trying to make a point here." Kairi gave a thumbs up.

"Roxas makes sense!" Sora rubbed his face with both of his hands before motioning with them.

"All this talk is making me tired." Standing up, he stretched his arms up above his head and released a loud yawn. "I'm going to take a nap. Don't make me wake up to a destroyed apartment." And with that, Sora was already gone.

~.~.~

"Why do I have to pick them up?" Sora muttered to himself as he arrived at the airport. Everyone else was just at his apartment chilling. Because of a stupid rock-paper-scissors round, Sora found himself pushed out the door and forced to picked up Vanitas and Ventus, two people he wasn't too excited to suddenly face once more. Kairi had offered to go along with him, but he didn't want her to for obvious reasons.

"Sora, Sora, over here, over here!" He plastered a super fake smile on his face before he turned around to face Ventus, who was excitedly waving his hand in the air like a little child. Next to him was Vanitas. Making eye contact with Sora, he simply gave a small wave out of politeness.

"How was your flight?" Sora asked politely as pointed a finger towards the way out.

"Stuffy and cold—"

"Boring and hot—" Sora blinked at the contrasting answers before giving an awkward laugh.

"Flights never were my thing either."

Considering the fact that the both of them were older than him and that they had absolutely nothing in common, the whole car ride back towards his apartment was extremely awkward. Nothing was really said much besides the ooo's and ah's from Ventus, who admired the scenery Twilight Town offered to him.

"It's a little bit darker than Destiny Islands, but it's definitely just as beautiful!"

Vanitas didn't do much—Sora supposed that he was forced to come by Ventus for the sake of company. He would've done the same to Riku in any case. Looking at the both of them occasionally through his rearview mirror, Sora had a hard time believing that there, in his car, was his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend and the one of the world's most famous Keybladers. _What a strange mix._

He unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief when his apartment came into view. The million questions running through his mind were finally going to be asked very soon.

Or so he thought.

When he pulled up into his garage and got out of his car along with the two in the backseat, he oddly smelled a whiff of something along the lines of smoke, but he didn't think too much of it until he finally opened the door inside.

"Axel, you motherfucker—dude!" Sora immediately coughed when he inhaled a good amount of black smoke coming straight from his kitchen. His ears hurt from piercing sounds from the smoke alarm. From his left, Namine suddenly shot out from the bathroom with a gigantic wet towel in her hand as she made a beeline towards the kitchen, her squeals evident among the rest of the yells and shouts. Roxas, who was just coming back down from Sora's programming room, managed to stop his mouth from letting out a curse when he inhaled the carcinogenic scent.

"What in the world?" Roxas quickly clambered down the stairs to join Sora's side. Half of his face was inside his shirt to breathe in whatever fresh air was left. "What's happening?"

"Don't ask me!" Before all four of them could go in and see what was going on, bursting from the kitchen this time was Kairi, who was coughing like a madman as she escaped the fog of black smoke. Her entrance was anything but elegant, for her foot slipped on the water marks left behind by Namine, and she fell flat on the ground. Sora immediately went over to her side to help her up. If his apartment literally wasn't on fire at that moment, he would've laughed at her smoky face.

"What happened?"

"Axel had the bright idea of heating a frozen pizza _with the cardboard_ inside the oven for god knows how long!"

"Axel, you bitch! Four fifty-one, Axel, four fifty-one!" everyone heard Riku yell, and a huge hiss was heard as water doused the oven on fire.

"Fuck, man, all I wanted to do was eat some pizza, man, some pizza! Is it a crime?" came Axel's voice filled with despair. "Hungry boy gotta eat!"

~25 minutes later~

"I was just gone for thirty minutes, guys, thirty minutes." All eight of them gathered around to look at the sad and burnt oven, which was still emitting a horrible stench. "I never knew the joke of catching the house on fire could ever be so real until today."

"Sorry, my man, but the pizza—"

"Axel, just shut up," Riku cut in. "Just… shut up." Sora pinched his eyebrows together as he stood there, slightly embarrassed in front of their guests.

"It's okay, my oven caught on fire a, erm, couple of times too?" Ventus tried to lift up the mood, but it wasn't exactly working as Sora rubbed a hand down his face.

"Riku… I trusted you, dude, I trusted you." He then looked at Kairi and Namine. "I trusted you guys too… heck, I trusted all of you except Axel! Four against one, guys, four!" Axel whimpered.

"I was hungry."

"Hungry? I almost lost my home because of some stupid frozen pizza that wasn't cooked properly!" If there wasn't a burnt oven ruining the atmosphere, the situation would've been comedic. Vanitas and Ventus awkwardly stayed out of it, both wondering the same thing.

What happened to the calm and cool Sora that greeted them at the airport?

After things settled down by a bit, all eight of them had to move themselves in Sora's garage, since there wasn't really another place where they could have their little meeting. Both Sora's and Roxas's cars had to get moved out for space.

"Sheesh, Axel…"

"Stop flaming me. I have feelings too, yah know."

"This is why I never let anyone visit. Always wanted to be alone, but no, some redhead was all like 'your house is too lonely' and opened the door that stupid Christmas night despite me telling her not to. Nothing is going right these days, moogles." Everyone watched as Sora muttered nonsense underneath his breath as he pushed a bunch of boxes towards the sides of the walls for more space. Namine switched on the lights to light up the dark garage.

"Sorry for what you had to see there," Kairi attempted to apologize to Ventus and Vanitas as Sora blew some steam. "It usually isn't like that."

"Right, tell them lies," she heard Riku murmur next to her as he watched Sora organize things. This earned him a good jab to the side.

"All is good," Vanitas responded, looking straight at her. Feeling very awkward with the way he was observing her and how they were suddenly seeing each other again, Kairi cleared her throat, tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, and turned over to Roxas to her left. However, she took a huge step away from him—poor boy was sneezing at the speed of light.

"Why you standing so far away?"

"Gee, I wonder why." She snorted rather obnoxiously in laughter when Roxas blew a big one right at Sora when he decided to join the circle. As everyone laughed at Sora, who didn't appreciate the welcome, she didn't notice how Vanitas adorned the faint traces of a smile as he watched her interactions.

"For formalities, this is Ventus," Sora gestured towards Ventus, "and this is Vanitas." Vanitas and Ventus awkwardly smiled at everyone. Catching Namine's super obvious glare towards him, Vanitas forced a wider smile for her.

"Haven't seen you in a while." He felt even more awkward when Namine refused to greet him back and simply crossed her arms and glanced somewhere else. Kairi mentally chuckled—Namine never did like Vanitas.

"Before I hand it over to you," Sora started as he addressed Ventus, getting straight to business. Kairi felt like they were around a campfire or something—since there were no chairs, everyone just opted to sit on the floor in a huge circle. "I just want to go over some things first. Fast too, if you don't mind. I feel like we all have busy schedules, especially you, Ventus. So thanks for sparing the time to come all the way here."

"Of course. Feel free to clarify anything while we have the chance," Ventus agreed with a huge smile.

"I'll get straight to the point: how do I know you're not just bullshitting me?" Roxas and Kairi winced. When they both suggested that he asked Ventus directly, they didn't mean _that_ directly. _Ebb and flow, Sora, ebb and freaking flow._

"Like, this came all of a sudden, you know?" Roxas chuckled awkwardly, trying to make Sora's rough question sound better. "We're all just… _curious._ " Ventus let out a hum, as if completely understanding where they were coming from, and grinned.

"Who knows, maybe I'm doing it just 'cause."

"Don't listen to him," Vanitas immediately interjected before anyone could get ticked off. "He just likes to tease everyone."

"Way to spoil the fun! I haven't hung around people your age in a long time, so I just wanted to mess around." Ventus pouted while Vanitas simply forced a small smile. Kairi tried not to raise an eyebrow—they sure were the dynamic duo. "But I'll be serious now. Seems like you have many questions to ask—shoot with your first one." Sora took a time of silence to study Ventus's features and his composure: happy, carefree, and _confident._ All those three combined considering the situation they were in just did not mix well with him.

"Were you serious about what you said the other week?" Sora began, referring to the time where Ventus first contacted him.

"What do you mean?"

"You seem very confident that everything will work just the way you want it."

~ _One week and a half ago~_

 _"I think I can help you guys out, in terms of the Keyblade War. Who knows, it might end the feud for good." Sora couldn't help but raise an eyebrow._

 _"Oh really?" Because of Ventus's huge reputation, Sora really was expecting something big—some plan that would just blow his mind. It didn't occur to him just yet that everything just smelled fishy, for suddenly, one of the best Keybladers was on their side to help them out?_

 _However, he was in for a big disappointment._

 _"The media is going to be all over me. I can put in a good word or two."_ _ **A "good word or two"?**_ _Immediately, Sora's face hardened—this guy wasn't taking them seriously at all, was he? The way he just said it like that was…_ _ **careless.**_ _From across the table, Kairi was trying to make eye contact in order to signal him to calm down. She knew Ventus's flippant attitude about such a sensitive matter wasn't rubbing Sora the right way._

 _"I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think a 'good word or two' is going to—"_

 _"Gosh, you don't know how to chill, do you? You're just like Vanitas sometimes!" Being compared to his girlfriend's ex wasn't making his mood any better. "Geez, you should know by my tone that I really don't mean that. I wish I had the magical power to solve everything with just one word!" Ventus stood up straighter from his chair and smiled cheekily at Sora through the camera. "So wipe that frown upside down."_

 _"What do you really mean then?" Sora just wanted him to cut to the chase. If he didn't, Sora wouldn't feel bad if he just ended the video call right there and then. Ventus scratched his cheek, as if in deep thought._

 _"Well… I actually am serious about the media thing though. I'm not bragging or anything, but I feel for this Keyblade War, the spotlight's going to be on me. We can plan some stuff out, and—"_

 _"Do you think we haven't used the media as a strategy?" Sora interrupted again. Ventus gave Sora a strong impression of naivety, and it caused him to be increasingly agitated. Sensing Sora's temper slowly rising, Roxas placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you're aware of the news, we tried at this guy's twentieth banquet," he pointed to Roxas for emphasis, "And this same idiot also tried to expose himself on worldwide television. That didn't work either, not that I wanted it too, since there seriously was no ground evidence for it. Everything we've done has been the sparks to a fire, but unfortunately, the fire never happened. Heck, I doubt anything will happen now unless-"_

 _"Hey, hey, do you know who you're talking to?" Ventus interrupted. He clearly did not want to listen to Sora's angry rant. By now, everyone was crowding behind Sora to watch the video call. "I'm Ventus Airius. Ventus. Airius. Do you know what that—"_

 _"Just get to the point," Vanitas muttered._

 _"I won gold for the Second Keyblade War and silver for the First," Ventus explained. "If you think my power is little, ho ho ho, you've got another thing coming."_ _ **So much for not bragging**_ _, Kairi thought to herself. "Terra isn't as influential as me, since that dying goat didn't win anything, but he's rising up there." Somewhere in Twilight Town, Terra sneezed. "You got two well-known Keybladers here that could help you out, and one of them, which is me, is the best of the best. Everyone knows who I am, just like how everyone knows, I don't know, Squall Leonhart. That one hot model." At this, everyone looked at each other and laughed. "You probably can't cause an eruption in the media, but I probably can. Get it?"_

"Interviews will be everywhere. I can say whatever I want—I can even be your puppet. No one can stop me from saying anything, not even your dad." At this, Ventus shot a look at Roxas. "You're right, all the news is so focused on the Keyblade Wars right now, so no one wants to investigate the whole ordeal behind who the real creator is. However, now, it's different—you got me. I can change the tide of the media by what I say. That means I can change the direction back to where you want it to be." Sora took a while to absorb everything Ventus said. "And do you know what's best and most effective? If I win gold again." At this, Sora immediately shot his eyes to meet his.

"You're kidding me, right?" Ventus innocently tilted his head in wonder.

"About what?"

"Winning _again_?" Ventus smiled.

"Of course not. Isn't that why I'm here? If I win, it's going to be _big_."

"This is the Third Keyblade War. _Third_ ," Sora emphasized. Sora shook his head at Ventus's ambitious goal. By now, the sport has grown so big, auditions and pre-screenings had to be made for the Keyblade War. Maybe if it was like the First and Second, Sora would have no doubt he would win, but it isn't.

"Gotta have our hopes up, right?" Ventus simply said with a wink. "It'll figure itself out along the way. All we have to do is believe in the power of our luck and chance. We can't predict the outcome of any of this. All we can do is just hope for the best." Sora did not like this uncertainty, not one bit. However, it was better than nothing.

"Ventus has a super huge reputation—like super," Roxas tried to assure as he saw Sora's expression of deep thought. "It's no joke."

"Yeah, I get that part," Sora said with a roll of his eyes. Indeed, having such an influential person by their side supporting their claims was great, but…

Why?

Why was Ventus offering to do so much?

However, before Sora could ask, Ventus's phone rang. Ventus quickly reached into his pocket and turned on the speaker.

"Y'ello?"

"Ventus Airius, where the hell are you right now!" Everyone winced at the screaming voice behind the line. Vanitas simply covered his face with a hand, as if expecting this outcome to happen. "What did I tell you about staying in one place? Your match is soon, _soon_! We have many things to prepare and you're just gone! Where are you?" Ventus chuckled nervously.

"I'm at Twilight Town right now." A moment of silence passed by all of them before disaster struck.

" _Twilight Town?! Did you just say_ _ **Twilight Town**_? Why the fu—oh boy, if you don't get your ass back here in less th—" Ventus simply turned off his phone and put it back into his pocket. A whistle passed through his lips as he smiled at everyone. Everyone, Sora included, just simply stared at him with jaws agape.

"Um, was it okay to just end the call like that?"

"Yeah, it's no problem!"

"…"

"Anyway, I'm here for a reason. You know what, right? Are you going to give it to me now?" At this, Roxas frowned.

"What are you guys talking about?" Ventus giggled and winked at Roxas.

"Your genius cousin is going to give me something that's going to help me tons during the Keyblade War." Sora nodded before he re-entered his smoke-smelling apartment. In less than a minute, Sora came back into the garage with the glorious Ultima Keyblade in his hands. No matter how many times they all saw it, they couldn't believe at how beautiful it was.

"Here. Even though it's not made by Keywielders, it should still have the same operating system—since they did steal it from me," Sora muttered the last part to himself. "It should sync with the virtual field and work fine like any other Keyblade you've used before. It's kind of heavy though; I know your fighting style isn't really about heavy hitting. Maybe Terra would have a better time holding it, but I don't have any other Keybla—"

"You're underestimating me here, child." Ventus looked at the Keyblade in his hands to admire it for a bit before he held it with his unusual, yet signature, stance. Sora was impressed—if Ventus could hold the Ultima Keyblade like that, then he sure was stronger than what he looked like. "Ho ho, now _this_ is definitely going to be an attention holder." Riku nearly let out a sound at how easily Ventus was holding it.

"Bro, I had a hard time holding that shit, but he's holding it as if he's a holding water bottle. He looks kind of scrawny, but he actually has packs, doesn't he?" Riku muttered lowly to Kairi. She simply clicked her tongue at him.

"That's what I'm telling you—these hulking things are useless." To emphasize her point, she gave his upper arm another painful squeeze, causing him to unintentionally let out a high-pitched squeak. This made everyone look at him curiously.

"… You okay there, buddy?" Axel asked. "I'm concerned for you." Riku simply laughed it off before he glared at Kairi.

"I hate you."

"Thanks."

Across from Ventus, Roxas was staring at the Ultima Keyblade, his eyebrows in the shape of a frown as he studied the thing. There was something that was bugging him—something about giving the Ultima Keyblade to Ventus just wasn't feeling right to him. _What could it be, what could it be? Why do I have a bad feeling about this?_ His mind raced as he tried to find the reason to his unrest. And then it clicked. _Wait!_

When he realized something crucial that was needed to be said, he was ready to just blurt it out, but before he could do so, Ventus stopped him. Giving the confused blonde a wink, Ventus signaled Roxas to keep quiet. _Did he just wink at me?_ Confused, Roxas simply closed his mouth and tightened his jaw. At first, Roxas couldn't understand why Sora was so suspicious. Well, he understood why, but he didn't understand the magnitude of his suspicion.

Now it was his turn to doubt this supposedly "famous" Keywielder.

 _What exactly are you up to?_

When Sora finished explaining to Ventus the basic details, Roxas was about to pull Sora to a corner and discuss his thoughts with him, but before he could do that, Ventus interfered again by coming up to him and hooking elbows with him.

"I'm done talking with the genius cousin! It's your turn. If you don't mind me, guys, I'm going to have a private talk with him." Sora frowned at this.

"What needs to be said that can't be said here?" Roxas made eye contact with his cousin, silently telling him not to worry and that he'll explain everything later before allowing himself to get pulled by Roxas. And when Sora thought nothing else could bring him close to the edge, Vanitas suddenly stepped out of his silence.

"Hey, Kairi, got a moment?" Kairi, who was also in silence for most of the time, was surprised to suddenly hear name get called out by Vanitas. Confused, she pointed to herself.

"Me?" Vanitas nodded.

"Yeah." Kairi blinked before her heart raced a bit. _And what business could he have with me?_ Instantly, Namine's hair could literally be seen flaring up while Sora immediately gave Kairi a look. As if sensing it himself, Vanitas looked between Namine and Sora for permission. "Not a problem, right?" Sora definitely didn't like how Vanitas gave him a challenging look, as if daring him to say "no." _This little…_

"No, not at all," Sora said with a sickeningly-sweet smile. "Take your time." When Vanitas took Kairi to the other end of the garage, Namine walked over to Sora's side.

"Don't blame anyone when your girl gets swept off her feet because of your passiveness."

"Whatever, Nami."

"It's Namine."

Over at the corner, Kairi nervously stared elsewhere besides Vanitas.

"What's up?" she started. She tried to figure out what Vanitas could've possibly had to say to her, but she didn't have to think too long before Vanitas explained himself. He heaved a huge sigh and ran a hand through his jet-black hair. It was as if he had a ton of troublesome things to deal with.

"I think you should know something… so hear me out."

* * *

Hey guys, here's an update from the dead! Believe it or not, I've been writing this very short chapter over the span of five weeks (the span of my first summer session). I've just been too busy to really work on it. The only reason why I was able to somehow pump out a chapter was because I finished a final today! Wanting to give myself a break, I just chugged this chapter out hehe.

I'm not dead yet guys!

until next time buahahahha


	25. Chapter 25

"No freaking way, you've got the be kidding m—" Vanitas hurriedly clamped his hand over Kairi's mouth to effectively shut her up, his other putting a finger to his lips to shush her. She blinked rapidly at him to express her surprise, since she couldn't do it with her mouth. However, her voice was loud enough to attract some eyes. Glancing to the side, she realized that Roxas and Ventus had already finished talking to each other and that everyone else was just waiting for her and Vanitas to finish their conversation.

"Gosh, you still can't control your voice volume when you get surprised. You're already going to blow it." He let his hand fall from her mouth and stuffed it back into his pocket. "Keep it a secret, alright?" Kairi nodded in a robotic way as she tried to let everything he just told her sink in. Vanitas frowned out of concern when Kairi gave her head a knock with her fist. It was as if she thought hitting her head would miraculously make everything make sense.

"Alright, I will. Thanks for telling me," Kairi said. "Wow." Vanitas sighed as he looked up at the shelves behind her.

"You seem to have really fit here in Twilight Town, haven't you?" he said suddenly out of nowhere. Kairi scratched her cheek embarrassingly before nodding. When she first moved here for college, she didn't expect herself to meet any of these people. She never knew that she would find a circle so early where she knew everyone and felt connected with everyone—something different than high school. Of course, it started off rough—almost everyone started off rough with each other. Sora and her didn't have the best of friendships at the beginning. Sora and Roxas definitely weren't on good terms either, and because of their dispute, Riku and Axel had to struggle between two sides. She would've never thought, along with her sister, that they would all be gathered here today, working together and being on the same team.

Somehow, along her journey, things just mended together.

"We've all had our fair share of bumps in the road," Kairi admitted to Vanitas. He simply shrugged.

"But it worked out, right?"

"Yup." Vanitas gave her a small smile—a rare sight, for he usually just smirked—and took his hand out of his pocket to rub the back of his neck.

"Well, that's good. You're totally different now. I feel like coming here has changed you for the better." Kairi raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really now?" Vanitas laughed before nodding.

"I mean, you were cool back in high school too. You had friends, but I don't know. Seeing you here in a different place during another chapter of your life… you seem more… _real_ , I guess?" He rubbed his chin, wondering if that was the right word to describe it before he nodded to affirm himself. "Real. Truer to yourself? I don't know, I never got this stuff anyway so." He started to feel a bit uncomfortable when Kairi suddenly started to check him out from top to bottom. Wondering what she was doing, he was about to ask her before she answered for him.

"You know, do you remember what you said back then?"

"I've said a lot back then. I think you should specify a little bit more." Kairi rolled her eyes before she continued.

"There was this time, where we were both at the beach." Kairi had to double check in her mind that she remembered what he said correctly. "I think you asked me a question… something like how you would live life differently if you had the chance."

 _"Vanitas thinking, what a nice image. Hey, what do you think about?" Vanitas let out a deep hum from his voice before shrugging._

 _"Just stuff. Life."_

 _"Life?"_

 _"I don't know. How I would live life differently if I had the chance?" Kairi frowned, not knowing what he was saying at all._

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"Nothing."_

"I kind of recall something like that." She could see through Vanitas; it was more than just a simple recollection. Back then, Kairi was a bit clueless—she never really knew what went on inside Vanitas's head. Now that she looked back on it, she realized that he must've fought with himself a lot. He struggled to shed the exterior and reform the interior, but it must've been hard for him back in high school. Deep inside, Kairi figured that he still did struggle, believing that he hasn't changed much from before; it had only been less than a year, after all.

However, she could see it: the new Vanitas. Of course, he hadn't shed everything off, but he was getting there, one step at a time.

"Just keep at it, you know? You're different too, if you haven't realized that much, Mr. Polite."

"Excuse me?" Kairi snickered. He really didn't seem to be aware at how his speech did a one-eighty. Kairi patted him on the side of his arm.

"You're different, I'm saying. I feel like you, after meeting Ventus, are more 'real' too," she did finger quotes, "I feel like you're truer to yourself too. I mean this is just my guess—it's not like I actually know how your life is now or anything—but I feel like… you're slowly becoming the person you've always kind of wanted to be? But then again, I never got this stuff anyway." She repeated what he had said to her and smiled. "Like I said before during our departure a few months back: keep doing what you want to do. You're going to be okay." Kairi didn't seem to realize how much her words had an effect on him, for he let out a breath and smiled a smile—a real, genuine smile.

"Thanks." Kairi nodded.

"Mhm." He gave her a weird look when she suddenly held her hand up. When she signaled towards it with her eyes, he realized what she wanted him to do before clicking his tongue.

" _Tch._ How childish." And he held up his own hand and gave her a high-five. "You know what, Kai'?"

"Yeah?"

"What you said before, how things finally worked out between all of you."

"Mhm, what about it?" He grabbed her hand and pulled it down in the form of a handshake. He returned her confused look with a smirk.

Over at the other side of the garage, Riku and Axel continuously hit Sora's back to stifle their sounds, Roxas blinked at the ex's, Namine narrowed her eyes, and Ventus grinned like he always did.

"I'm think our jumbled strands have been mended too, despite all the bumps in our little, yet short road." He shook her hand, which she gladly returned. "I'm glad we were able to be reconnected once more through all these tangles. Good luck with life, Kairi." She laughed.

"You too, Vanitas." When they let go of each other, Vanitas glanced at the side and motioned with his eyebrows towards everyone on the other side of the garage. "I can feel everyone giving me uncomfortable stares, especially your sister and your boyfriend. Let's go back." Kairi stifled the sound of what would've sounded like a squeak as she punched his arm. For some reason, hearing someone else calling Sora her boyfriend made her all giddy. Outside, Vanitas seemed unaffected, but inside, he was crying in pain—this girl needed to learn how strong she actually was.

"Alright, Vanitas, got everything wrapped up?" Ventus cheered as he swung an arm over his friend's shoulders. Vanitas carefully lifted Ventus's arm and put it back to his side, not liking it when the bubbly guy got too close to him—he liked his personal space.

"Yeah, I'm done," Vanitas grumbled. Ventus excitedly waved the Ultima Keyblade around once last time before he gave it to Vanitas to hold. Vanitas's arms almost gave way at how it was unexpectedly heavier than what he thought it would be. One by one, Ventus shook hands with everyone as a farewell. He even promised that he would remember everyone's name, much to Namine's excitement.

"Good luck," Ventus said to Sora as he firmly shook hands with him. Sora gave a small smile in return.

"Good luck to you too." Then Ventus went over to Roxas, who didn't really have a good expression on his face.

"Good luck to you too, dude," Ventus said happily. Roxas forced a weak smile before looking away.

"Hope everything turns out well for you…"

"Of course, my twin." He shot finger guns at everyone childishly before they morphed into peace signs. "Make sure you guys watch me on TV!"

~.~.~

"Oh my gosh, I actually got his autograph! Kairi, this has got to be one of the best days of my life! Ventus Airius, the real deal!" Kairi tried not to plug her ears with her fingers as she pretended to listen to her sister. No, she wasn't being a bad sister; it was just that Namine had been saying this for the nth time for the past hour. "He even told me a broad overview of what sis daily routine was, and wow, he's busy!"

"Hurting a poor boy's heart in the process…" Kairi muttered as a half-joke. The other half wasn't so much of a joke.

"Hm, what did you say, Kairi?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

While everyone waited for Riku to come back from driving Vanitas and Ventus to their hotel—Sora was not going to let his home be unsupervised anymore—Roxas deeply contemplated his thoughts as he sat at the kitchen table.

"So, when are you going to tell me what Ventus said to you?"

"Sora!" Roxas jumped in his seat in surprise when Sora suddenly popped up from behind him. Sora raised a brow, questioning why his cousin was so jumpy.

"What's gotten you all jittery?" Roxas let out a rather awkward and forced laugh, which just irked Sora even more.

"Haven't eaten breakfast or lunch yet, you know. I'm getting the hypoglycemic side effects."

"…Right. So, what happened?" Roxas figured that his cousin wasn't going to drop it, so he just spat out what was at the top of his head.

"He just wanted me to watch over you so that you won't blast a brain from nervousness." When Roxas said that, he chided himself mentally at how stupid that sounded. Of course, his genius cousin wasn't going to fall for tha—

"Oh, that's it? Why am I not surprised—that seems kind of like him to say that." Roxas stared at Sora, unblinking. _Holy moogles, he actually bought it._ Sora rubbed the back of his head, disappointed that that was all Roxas had to say, before he stalked off towards his fridge to get something to eat. Roxas, tired, put his head onto the table and shut his eyes closed, wondering how everything will turn out.

~.~.~

"Ventus, are you sure this is going to be okay?" Vanitas didn't voice his concern over his friend that much—at least, outwardly—but this time, he felt the need to. As always, Ventus gave him a silly smile and stuck his tongue out as he turned on the TV in the hotel room.

"Of course. I'm Ventus Airius. Who can stop me?"

~.~.~

In that same week, on a Friday, the ceremony of the Keyblade Wars ended while the first round of the Keyblade Wars started. For a change of scenery, everyone invaded Riku's single dorm, much to his reluctance, to watch the TV. Kairi had expected his room to be a second version of Axel's, but she was pleasantly surprised to see his room all neat and tidy. Even his bed was made.

The moment Kairi saw Riku's desk, she zoomed over there and emptied the books out of her backpack. Everyone looked at her curiously besides Roxas, who knew what was coming. Sighing, he shrugged off his own backpack and stole a chair from Riku's common area. Settling it right next to Kairi, he took out his math book and allowed it to fall on the table with a loud thud.

"You guys call us when Ventus comes up or something. This girl wants to study for her finals, since it's in, like—when was it again?"

"Freaking in two days," she groaned as she hit her forehead against her open math textbook. At this, Sora crossed his arms and frowned—he thought he was the one who was going to tutor her. Sensing Sora's questioning aura, Kairi avoided eye contact with him and proceeded to go through Roxas's blessed notes.

Sora could feel himself getting ticked off at Kairi's behavior. They hadn't had much time together, since things have been so busy, but already he could feel some sort of drift between them. When asked about what she and Vanitas talked about, Kairi laughed it off and said they were just "catching up." With the way she acted, it definitely wasn't just catching up. It wasn't any of his business—he respected her privacy—but something just unnerved him. Now, she replaced him with Roxas. _What is going on with this girl?_

Kairi could feel Sora's intense eyes just burning holes into her back. _Sorry, Sora._ She doubted she focus on her math studying if Sora was the one who helped her, so she made Roxas resume his former tutor role. Also, she doubted she could keep her mouth shut as well…

 _Keep it a secret._ Vanitas's words swirled through her mind once more. She forced them out of her mind so that she could focus.

"Not feeling too hot about the whole thing too either, huh?" Roxas said to snap her out of it. Kairi forced a smile and nodded.

"You too. You've just been dazing off ever since."

"Yeah, since it also didn't have to be this way."  
"Mhm…"

So, as Roxas helped Kairi with math, the rest of them turned on the TV to watch the Keyblade Wars, which took place at Radiant Garden. The stadium for the Keyblade Wars was huge; barely any of them could make out the faces of the tiny dots of the crowd that spectated. To experience the VR setting, everyone in the audience had glasses so that they could watch the action unfold. Sora never had the interest to look up the virtual field where the Keyblade Wars were held, so when he saw it right then and there on TV, he couldn't believe that such a big virtual field existed.

"That's Roxas's dad for you," Axel muttered, also amazed at the enormous field. "Big bucks, I see there, big bucks."

"You think I got what it takes to be a Keyblader?" Riku joked as he felt his muscles. "I don't maybe, maybe a few training sessions here and there and I'll—"

"Wow, and Ventus took Yuffie out in less than thirty seconds! That health bar of hers just zoomed by as if it never existed in the first place!" Everyone had their jaws on the ground, flabbergasted out how Ventus's first round just ended that quick. A replay of the whole thing was sped up two times. There, in the desert landscape, Ventus simply charged at her, casted reflect magic and fire magic turn by turn, and ended it with a slice of his Keyblade. His choice of Keyblade this round was Lady Luck to boost his magical strategy. Riku's words died in his mouth as he cleared his throat.

"Never mind."

"Hm, when do you think he'll whip out the Ultima Keyblade and show them who's boss?" Axel questioned. "I thought he would've used it in all of his rounds, but I guess not."

"Maybe it's a bit too early," Sora answered. "There are just the first few rounds—there isn't really any suspense or excitement yet. He'll probably use it near the end when all the attention is more focused on him."

"Hm, he hasn't said anything in interviews either yet, has he?" Namine spoke, not fangirling over Ventus for once. She shook her head and managed a small smile. "Well, the Keyblade War just started. I guess it's too early for action now."

All of them held that hopeful thought—it was just the beginning. Ventus would act later.

However, over the span of two weeks, Ventus failed to even say anything about Sora or use the Ultima Keyblade at all as the Keyblade War approached the finals.

"I fucking knew it." Both Kairi and Roxas winced when Sora slammed his glass of water down onto his kitchen table harshly. Kairi swore Sora was going to break the glass with that brute force. Riku, Axel, and Namine lowered down the TV's volume in Sora's living room to quell the brunet's anger. "He fucking stole my Keyblade, didn't he?"

"Hey, Sora, let's not jump to that conclusion," Roxas tried, but his cousin was almost beyond furious.

"I knew it. I knew we shouldn't have trusted him, but no, all of you were so excited merely because of the fact that he was a famous Keyblader. I shouldn't have gotten persuaded by any of you." Namine and Roxas looked the guiltiest out of the bunch—they were the ones who really urged Sora to believe Ventus's words. "I blindly gave him my only Keyblade and trusted his words. Heck, we didn't even know what his damn intentions were, but we just blindly trusted him to do the job. I was a fool."

"Sora, calm down," Kairi tried as she placed a hand on his shoulder, but he roughly shrugged it off. He tried not to react to the obvious look of hurt strewn across her face. Kairi gave a glance at Roxas, who simply shook his head. Sora ran a frustrated hand through his spiky locks.

"I should've known better."

"Just wait. Maybe he has something planned and—"

"Something planned? What the heck do you mean, Roxas?" Sora pointed to the TV, which currently showed an advertisement before the final match between Ventus and another young Keyblader named Xehanort. Amazingly, Ventus really did make it all the way to the finals, just like he said, but that wasn't even the important issue anymore. "Every interview that guy participated in, he didn't even mention the slightest hint about us. Hell, he even supported Keywielders in his last one, thanking them that all of this wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for your dad's stupid company! Everything he told us were lies; we didn't know his intentions by the slightest and we still don't! Is this your version of 'something planned'?" Roxas and Kairi exchanged a look, which pissed Sora off more by a couple of notches. For the past two weeks, they both have been skittish about something ever since Ventus and Vanitas came to visit. Sora wasn't dumb—he knew the both of them had been hiding something from him since the visit, but because he didn't want to fight over it, he simply humored them.

This time, he wasn't going to that anymore.

"Sora," Riku joined in, sensing that Sora was getting beyond angry. "Calm down. I understand how you feel, but let's see this 'til the end of this, okay?"

"But it already is the end. Can't you—"

"Guys, guys, guys," came Axel's frantic voice. Everyone whipped their heads over to Axel, who stared intently at the screen. "It's Ventus's final match." Namine ushered them with the motions of her hands to come over to the TV. Immediately, the four of them filled the sofa to see what had happened.

"Ventus is in the middle of picking his choice of Keyblade right now for the battle," Namine explained.

"It's over already," he muttered, letting reality sink in. "It's too late. Ventus isn't going to—"

"Alright, I made my choice!" Ventus announced. From both sides of the arena, two people came out to deliver the chosen Keyblades to the two wielders. Axel squinted his eyes at Ventus's opponent.

"And who this dude?"

"Xehanort, a pretty well-known Keyblader as well," Namine answered Axel as she scrolled through her phone for information. "Like Ventus, he also participated in all three Keyblade Wars, but he wasn't as successful as Ventus. According to the articles here, he went nearly insane over his first two losses in the semi-finals, so he trained super hard to be here in the finals today. Well, it worked out for him. At least he's guaranteed a silver medal by the end of the day."

"Uh, I don't think he would want just silver," Riku corrected, his eyes also glued to his phone as he did some research on this Xehanort guy. "I think he just wants to crush Ventus at this point. Do you know who he lost to during the semi-finals for both Keyblade Wars?" Namine grimaced.

"Ouch, don't tell me…"

"Yup. Ventus pummeled his ass both times. I'm pretty sure this isn't just a friendly battle of chivalry anymore. I bet this Xehanort guy just wants to shed blood at this point for the gold."

"Ooo, I feel bad for the dude now," Axel commented. "Just a tiny bit."

"Well, it doesn't matter, Ventus will probably win again anyway." Namine's fangirl moment did not activate at the right time, for Sora had visible steam coming out of his head at the thought of Ventus just winning and breaking all the promises he made to them.

"Forget it." Standing up, Sora went over to Namine and took the remote control by her side. His finger went over the power button—he didn't want to see no more. "There's no point in watching this anymo—"

"Ventus Airius, what kind of Keyblade did he just pull out right now?" the excited announcer literally yelled into the mic. "Incredible, is this some new sort of Keyblade we didn't know about? Look at that beautiful thing!"

"Sora, look, look," Riku urged the spiky-brunet, who immediately dropped the remote and darted his eyes back on the TV. His had to swallow the hitch that had formed earlier due to the perception of betrayal. Everyone except Roxas and Kairi had their eyes open at disbelief at the unexpected turn of event. They surely did not expect Ventus to do anything for them at this point in time.

"Look, Sora, he's using it, he's using it," Axel said excitedly to Sora to pull him back to reality. "You don't have to worry anymore, he's using it!" It was as if the world's weight was lifted off his shoulders, for Sora simply plopped back down to the space next to Namine and waited mutely for the next action to unfold. Namine lightly patted his shoulder in comfort and support as she watched, amazed as well. The camera zoomed into the Ultima Keyblade Ventus held, showing the world _his_ design—his Keyblade. He had no idea what went on in Ventus's mind, but that was one of the last things on his mind as he sat there and watched Ventus begin his battle with Xehanort. _He's really using it._

"Why did he decide to do this now?" Riku asked. He paused in his speaking and let out a hiss of pain when Ventus dived right at Xehanort and landed the first hit at his legs. "I don't know about you, but I think it's a tad bit too late."

"Why does it matter—he did it," Axel responded, giddy as he watched Sora's Keyblade in the hands of Ventus. "Gosh, holding that Keyblade sure makes him look so cool."

Definitely, there were many disadvantages for Ventus when using the Ultima Keyblade. One thing was that he had never trained with this Keyblade before. With the heavier weight, it must've affected Ventus's movements. To prove this point, everyone winced when they watched Ventus get hit on his bare shoulder due to the fact that he couldn't move fast enough; the Ultima Keyblade's weight lagged his motions. Another concerning thing that Sora took note of was that even though the Ultima Keyblade could sync with the Keyblade War's virtual field, that was all it could do. Each Keyblade presented by Keywielders gave a special effect during use, like Lady Luck's ability to enhance magic. However, the Ultima Keyblade obviously didn't have any of that—Ventus didn't have any boost whatsoever. All he had was a naked Keyblade.

"Is it me or is Ventus having a hard time?" Axel said, his excitement a bit lower due to seeing the blonde not doing as great as he thought he would be.

"Of course, he's using an unfamiliar Keyblade which he barely had time to adjust to," Sora explained.

They didn't know how long the battle lasted. It was tough; with the new Keyblade, Ventus had moments where he actually got cornered. Things looked a lot rougher for him compared to his other opponents. Xehanort did not give him a chance at all to easily strike.

However, Sora watched the moment in slo-mo. Ventus did some slashes and magic spells here and there, and before he knew it, he overpowered Xehanhort, trapped him in a vortex of water, and pierced his body with the Keyblade. The little remaining portion of his health bar disappeared, with Ventus's hanging by just a thread as well. A bell rang throughout the silent stadium, signaling the end of the final match and the end of the Keyblade Wars.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three.

The crowd erupted into a roar, shaking the whole stadium with their screams for Ventus's second victory. They roared even louder when Ventus lifted the Ultima Keyblade up in the air to signal his victory, a grin stretched painfully across his face. Namine squealed while Riku and Axel high-fived each other. Sora couldn't believe it as he watched Ventus and his Keyblade. With his Keyblade, Ventus won the third U-25 Keyblade War for gold.

 _Dad, are you seeing this?_

Because everyone rode on their excitement at Ventus's victory, they didn't notice how both Kairi and Roxas were the only ones who were not celebrating with them.

"It's going to happen, isn't it?" she said to Roxas, who simply nodded.

"Luckily, he finished the battle before they… stopped him."

"This concludes the third U-25 Keyblade War…" the announcer said. Sora's excitement slowly diminished when he sensed something wrong with the announcer's tone. Roxas and Kairi pursed their lips into a tight line, preparing themselves. "This year's Keyblade War champion title goes to…

"Xehanort!"

Sora's lips parted slightly as a slow yet sharp inhale filled him.

 _What?_

A dead silence spread across Sora's living room like an infectious virus.

The cheers, one by one, died down as everyone let that announcement sink in. Axel's smile slowly morphed into a frown while Riku's and Namine's turned into open mouths. On the TV, Ventus's smile never faltered, not even by the slightest. Sora's mind instantly went to work as it analyzed everything from beginning to end, trying to figure out what was wrong. However, he couldn't think straight, for he too was too surprised to do any thinking. Luckily, his question—everyone's question—got answered very soon enough.

"Due to the use of an unauthorized… _weapon_ that is not licensed by Keywielders," the announcer himself didn't know how to properly deliver the news, "Ventus Airius is… disqualified."

Sora's mind finally put the pieces together. He whipped his head towards the direction of Roxas and Kairi and gave them an accusing look. They both guiltily looked away.

 _~Two weeks ago in the garage~_

 _Roxas shrugged Ventus off when they were at the corner of the garage for their private conversation. His suspicion of the guy showed clearly as he glared at Ventus, his blue eyes unyielding. Ventus pouted._

 _"You're scaring me, Roxie." Roxas's eye twitched in irritation, and it took a lot for Roxas to outwardly express his irritation._

 _"The name is Roxas. Cut to the chase; what are your intentions?"_

 _"Chill, chill, all your answers will," Roxas backed away from Ventus when he suddenly twirled on his heels, did a three-sixty turn, and pointed finger guns accompanied with the click of the tongue at Roxas, "be answered."_ _ **This guy has got to be a joke**_ _, Roxas thought. His maturity could be rivaled to Axel's, considering his age, and being compared to Axel was no easy feat._

 _Seeing that Roxas clearly didn't appreciate his humor, Ventus straightened up and cleared his throat. "You were about to say something dangerous earlier, my friend."_

 _"What do you mean dangerous? It's justified," Roxas said with narrowed eyes. He looked at the Ultima Keyblade and shook his head. "What are you thinking? Do you know the rules of the Keyblade War?" Ventus shrugged._

 _"You tell me. I participated in it two times, my friend."_

 _"Then why?"_

 _"I'm surprised Sora hasn't caught on yet. It's a pretty blaring rule," Ventus's smile died._

 _"Use of an unauthorized Keyblade is forbidden," Roxas finished for him. "What are you planning to do with that Keyblade? You can't use, so are you planning on stealing it?" Ventus put both hands to his heart, feigning extreme hurt at Roxas's accusation._

 _"Dear god, my Roxie, you are cruel to me! But of course, I couldn't fool you, could I, son of the CEO of Keywielders?" Ventus put his hands into his pocket and sighed. "I really was planning to just not tell anyone. Well, except Kairi. That's what Vanitas is telling Kairi over there too." To make his point, he darted a small finger towards Kairi and Vanitas, who were also having some intense conversation. "But I just knew I couldn't go past you. Heck, I actually didn't think I could go past Sora, but he obviously isn't aware of the Keyblade War and its rules that much, is he?"_

 _"Since he hates it for obvious reasons," Roxas muttered. "But get to the point: what exactly are you doing? Why are you doing this? It's not as if you're going to use it and purposely get disqualified." When Ventus failed to answer him and just continued smiling at him, it finally dawned on Roxas. His frown quickly evaporated into a look of disbelief. "No way…"_

 _"Bingo!" Ventus did another three-sixty spin and gave a peace sign near his cheek. "What could be a bigger blast?" Roxas stared incredulously at this guy—he couldn't be serious. In that one moment, so many questions went through Roxas's head. He wanted to ask so many, but only one word came out._

 _"Why?"_

 _Over at Vanitas and Kairi, Kairi had a hard time letting it all absorb._

 _"He's planning to lose it? What the actual—you're lying." Vanitas grimaced and shook his head._

 _"I don't think I would've pulled you out here, with all your friends staring at us like we're some reality television show, just to lie. If you're too shocked, you can talk to your friend Roxas over there to make yourself feel better," Vanitas discreetly jerked his thumb over to Roxas and Ventus, "If Ventus pulled him off to the side like that, then he must be telling him the same thing I'm telling you. Just don't tell anyone else though." Kairi's mouth opened and closed; she didn't really know what to say as a response. There were just so many things Kairi wanted to ask in more detail. She started with the first one._

 _"Why are you telling me and Roxas?"_

 _"Well, it was just supposed to be you, since it wouldn't look too suspicious I guess for me to talk to you. I mean, it would still be suspicious in the sense that we're…" Vanitas left the phrase hanging, although Kairi already got what he meant. "That was part of the plan, but your friend must've jumped aboard ship somehow along the process."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"To be the mediator of things just in case spiky boy decides to blow a fuse as he watches the Keyblade Wars unfold." Vanitas was obviously talking about Sora. "Ventus understands how important this issue must be to him, so to deviate from the original plan during the actual Keyblade War would upset the guy. Having at least one person in your group knowing about the whole thing would calm things more better." Kairi frowned._

 _"Why not just… tell him the actual plan?" Vanitas shrugged, stupefied himself._

 _"I don't know, Ventus said he wanted to at least have one 'heroic moment' in his life. The guy just does what he wants, I can't really stop him there. Don't worry though—Ventus is on your side, despite how fishy everything probably is for you guys. He's a good guy; trust me." Kairi ran a hand through her hair as she to make sense of it all. She agreed—it would be such a big deal. But to… but to execute in such a way…_

 _"Why, Ventus, why?" Roxas asked. "This is a big thing for you, isn't it? How could you just—"_

 _"Shh, shh." Ventus put a finger to his lips. "All your answers will be answered soon enough. Trust me. Don't tell your kid cousin about any of this, okay?"_

"You guys knew right from the very beginning, didn't you?" Sora asked, mind blown way out of proportions. "No wonder you guys have been so shaky lately." He also belittled himself in his mind—how could he have not seen such a predictable thing? Of course, Ventus couldn't just waltz into the Keyblade War, wielding some Keyblade that only the gods know where it came from. However, there was just one thing he still couldn't process: why?

"He figured that by losing at the final round while finally revealing the Ultima Keyblade, he could create the hugest uproar ever," Roxas tried to explain as he watched Ventus walk off the stage. He could already tell he was going to get in trouble with those he worked with. "A huger uproar than just him winning. In the hearts of many, everyone believed Ventus was going to win anyway. Right, Namine?" Namine sucked her lips in when Roxas pointed her out as an example. "They all expected him to win. What could bring greater attention then losing it all at the very end, at the very last second? He told me that it wasn't going to be easy to bring the Ultima Keyblade out in the arena to start it off, but he said he'll somehow manage. Here we are—he somehow managed to do it. He also managed to win the battle too just by the thread, which he admitted was going to be hard and difficult."

"Vanitas told me the same thing," Kairi confessed. "He told me that only I was supposed to know just so that I could keep an eye on Sora from doing anything reckless, but Roxas figured out Ventus's intentions too soon, so he got to know too." Feeling like he lost, Sora turned his eyes towards the TV once more.

"Wow," was all he could say. Half of him was relieved—Ventus didn't betray them. Ventus, all along, stuck by their side and was determined to pull through to the very end. However, the other half of him had a hard time accepting it. Ventus literally threw away his win, possibly his biggest win yet with the increasingly competitive playing field, just to help them. Just to help _him._ Sora couldn't believe it: Ventus, at the height of his career in Keyblading, did this all just for him and his father.

 _Why?_

 _Why?_

 _Why?_

That question still hasn't been answered, and both Kairi and Roxas did not have the answer to that question either.

"Seriously? This is crazy," Axel muttered as he leaned over his knees. "What's going to happen to him?"

"Massive flux of interviews, that's what," Riku answered, also at great disbelief that this turn of event actually happened. "The real war is going to start now for Ventus." Everyone in the room simply continued to watch the TV with the initial shock failing to go away. Sora clasped his hands into tight fists. He needed answers soon, or else his curiosity will just eat at him.

Contact with Ventus over the course of the week proved impossible. No matter how many times Sora tried calling him, he failed to pick up. Heck, he even tried calling Vanitas—credits to Kairi for giving him his number—but even he didn't pick up. Under normal circumstances, Sora would've gotten upset. However, because the situation definitely wasn't normal, Sora spared the both of them.

"Be patient, Sora," Kairi said, worried at how frazzled the spiky brunet seemed to appear. "Ventus has a lot on his plate too right now. Definitely a lot." Ventus has not done any interviews yet, much to the public's unrest. No interviews meant no answers. Riku came over to Sora from the living room and patted his back.

"Kairi's right. The only thing we can do is wait. The answers will come soon no matter what." Sora hoped the answers would come as quick as possible.

His wish came true when Ventus finally appeared on TV the next day.

* * *

Life update: I missed my physics final by accident.

HAHAHHAHA My stupid ass thought it was on Saturday. NEWS: It was on Friday.

So guess what I did: I wrote fanfic to make my depressed dumbass feel better

Good news: I CAN REMAKE IT ON MONDAY AKA TOMORROW SO HERE YOU GUYS GO *runs to go study*


	26. Chapter 26

Sora let out a quiet "whoa" as he clasped the kitchen counter with both his hands and leaned against it. Kairi held the glass of water in her hands while she nervously started looking at his glinting crown necklace. She feared that it would've slipped out of her hand at the way she held it so loosely. Sora's eyes were initially wide, but they slowly held a gentle gaze as he looked at her so closely. He could even count how many flecks of purple were in her shining blue eyes.

"Mind getting out of the way?" Kairi half-whispered. She did not intend to sound so soft, but the butterflies—no, _rock concert_ —playing inside her stomach made her voice sound weak. Her mind replayed the scene that got them in this position in the first place. Being the clumsy idiot she was, she spilled some water on the floor as she filled a glass. Before she had time to even clean it up, Sora entered the kitchen and slipped, hurtling himself into her and grabbing the edge of the counter to stabilize himself.

"Sora, the popcorn, the popcorn!" yelled Riku from the living room.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting it," Sora responded back before he awkwardly took a step back from her. Kairi avoided saying anything by finishing the water in her glass.

Because of all the activity for the past month, the both of them seemed to forget what it meant to be a couple. Kairi mentally sighed—it had been almost a full month since they even did anything remotely romantic. _Maybe getting together was a little bit too soon…_ At this rate, she wondered if they'll ever get back on track.

"Any calls?" Sora asked. Kairi shook her head.

"Nope." Sora was past the stage of disappointment. Already expecting that type of answer, Sora sighed and rubbed the back of his head irritably.

"Great. Just great."

"Sora!"

"Dude, I get it!" Sora growled back. He roughly opened the kitchen closet and fished out a bag of popcorn. As he worked to microwave it, he continued talking to Kairi. "My apartment's just been a place where you guys can just crash now, isn't it?"

"It makes this boring place lively," she mused as she leaned against the counter. "Wouldn't you be lonely without us now? Hm, hm?" Sora rolled his eyes.

"As if."

"Quit lying."

"I don't like walking downstairs to see Riku half-naked and dead asleep on my sofa in the morning."

"I heard that!"

"Yeah, so get out!" Kairi giggled at their banter; the two best friends sure were something else. Sora sighed and threw the popcorn into the microwave with a shut. "Where have you been sleeping though? How's Xion?" Kairi cringed when she heard the name of her roommate and shook her head.

"I haven't seen her in a while. I took all my stuff and just started crashing at another dorm. Namine and Selphie started living in a triple dorm—not that they mind or anything. We all have something in common now."

"Oh yeah?"

"We all just don't like her. No offense or anything."

" _Pfft_ , none taken." There were no lies behind his words. The sounds of the popping of the popcorn filled the brief silence between them. Kairi bit her bottom lip, wondering if she should explore this territory.

"Hey… Sora."

"Yeah?"

"Why did you even like her?" The beep of the microwave sounded right after. Sora busied himself as he took the popcorn out and shook it. He didn't seem too bothered by her question as he held it at the tip with the pinch of his fingers.

"Good question. Hm. Currently going through my middle school memories, hold up. Uh, it was for a really basic reason."

"Which is?"  
"I thought she looked at me as me," Sora confessed. He took a bowl and poured all the popcorn into it. "She was nice, I guess. Valued me as a person. But turns out, she had aimed for Roxas all along, so that was a big let-down."

"It took you a while to realize that? Because, uh, it was pretty obvious that she—"

"I just pretended I didn't know. Made it more bearable. First crushes aren't easy to forget you know, much less a first girlfriend. I just stuck around to stick around." The way Sora explained it sounded so basic, but when Kairi thought about it, that truly was it. "Nothing special besides the fact that she's literally a lunatic."

"And Roxas doesn't know any of it? The whole I-got-with-your-cousin-to-get-at-you ordeal?" Sora laughed at her statement before shrugging.

"I guess not. It's not like Xion showed her lunacy in front of him, you know, so I wouldn't be surprised. I think Roxas does have a clue though, but he's just too… _nice._ " It was as if that left a bad taste in Sora's mouth, for his face scrunched up. When was the last time he even complimented that cousin of his? "We'll deal with her later though. She needs a reality check."

"For once, I agree." Sora shot her a look.

"'For once'? What, am I ever wrong?" Kairi stuck her tongue out at him before letting out a _hmmp_.

"Maybe." Sora chuckled as he poured butter over the popcorn. After he was done, he carried it with one hand and pointed to the living room with the other.

"Come join us if you want. We're watching more horror films, but it's not like you would be fazed by it or anything. Everyone's there."

"I'll pass. I have to start working on my homework anyway. New quarter, new me."

"Right." He gave her a wave goodbye in which she returned. Before he left, he settled the bowl on the counter next to her and leaned over next to her. "Take it easy, okay?"

"You take it easy too," she replied softly, knowing how stressed Sora had been for the past week. He nodded. He hesitantly touched her hair with his hand and stroked her head softly.

"Sorry for not spending time with you as much," Sora suddenly apologized. Kairi raised a brow before she smiled. "I just haven't found the time, and—"

"Sora, it's fine. Really."

"After all this is over, we can—"

"Yes, yes, I know. Don't sweat it." Sora smiled back, wondering when he had such a pretty and understanding girlfriend. Kairi wasn't prepared when Sora leaned in to give her a kiss.

"Moogles, how long does it take for you to make popcorn? Sora!" Sora froze in his movement, closed his eyes to wonder why his friends were like this, and roughly grabbed the bowl of popcorn.

"Don't stress your brains out at the beginning of the corner. You'll grow bald at that rate," was all he said before he stomped back towards the living room. Kairi sighed as she drummed her fingers on the counter.

"I hope so."

Sora walked in on Axel hiding behind Riku's shoulder, Riku hiding one eye underneath his shirt while the other watched the bloody scene, Roxas wincing every time the girl's scream got louder, and Namine looking unfazed. _Sisters really are alike._

"I really don't understand why you guys like watching scary things when you can't handle them," Sora said as he gave Riku his bowl of popcorn. "And I just noticed something; we haven't seen Hayner in a while."

"Okay, I love Hayner and all, but…" Riku ran a finger underneath his nose and cleared his throat for clarity. "I'd rather not talk to him until he finally gets a girlfriend."

"Yeah, it gets annoying," Axel admitted. Sora rolled his eyes.

"What great friends you are." Though, he had to admit that Hayner started to get a bit more cuckoo because his lack of a relationship. Riku had tried to console him, saying that he also haven't had a girlfriend in a while, but that obviously didn't make him feel better.

"Kairi, are you sure you don't want to join us? Chill, girl, chill. It's only week two," Riku asked, seeing the redhead already in her books. Kairi held up a thumbs up.

"I'm good, dude."

"Alrighty then."

They all thought they wouldn't hear from Kairi for the next two hours or so, but they were mistaken when she suddenly called out for them.

"Guys, guys, guys, stop the movie."

"What, we're at the good part!" Axel exclaimed.

"Just turn on the entertainment news now!" At the word 'news', Sora didn't hesitate to grab the remote from Axel and switch to the TV. With her laptop in hand, Kairi went over to all of them and started to scroll through stuff. "My news notification popped up—Ventus is finally disclosing info." Right at that time, Ventus's name was on the headlines for the news channel. Sora suddenly felt his heart race as anticipation filled his veins. Axel and Riku stood up straighter while Roxas joined Sora with his anxiety.

 _Finally_.

~ _Five years ago~_

 _"Ventus, read the next passage for me please."_

" _Um… okay." He cleared his throat._ _ **I can do it this time.**_ _The moment his eyes focused onto the lines of the paragraph, the words started to dance around the page, as if mocking him with their silly movements. He closed his eyes shut and tried again. Nothing._

" _Is something the matter, Mr. Airius?" He tried not to show his anger at the teacher—she should know very well about his condition, but she did not seem to care. Instead, he simply gave an apologetic smile._

" _Sorry, Ms. B, I can't read this."_

" _Very well. Next person!"_

 _Ventus despised English class, period. And math. And history. And anything that involved reading. Why?_

 _Because he was dyslexic._

 _The bell rang, and Ventus glumly exited out of the classroom with a useless textbook in his hand._

" _Aqua, I feel like I don't have a future," he suddenly blurted out during lunch to one of his best friends ever. Immediately, Aqua casted her concerned eyes at him and frowned. Putting her sandwich down, she wiped her hands with a napkin and started to pat Ventus's back comfortably._

" _Ven, what makes you say that?"_

" _The words. I'm tired of it. When I read one line, another line pops in to mess everything up. The spacing is weird, they get all wiggly, spelling tests are a drag, and everything just dances around to mess with me." Frustrated, he leaned his elbows on the lunch table and clasped his head. "I don't think school's it for me."_

" _Gosh, Ven, don't you dare say that." The mom in Aqua started to appear as her tone became hard. "There are many people who have dyslexic that are successful. Just because you have a hard time reading doesn't mean you're not good at school!"_

" _I know, Aqua, I know… but sometimes I get tired of trying. It's embarrassing when I have to take longer than usual to finish a test. I feel like I can't catch up to anyone no matter how hard I try. Everyone's so great while I'm just… Everyone just looks at me, and… and…" Aqua comforted her friend as she patted his head soothingly. "I feel like there's nothing I can do here."_

" _You might feel like that now, Ven… But you'll find something that you can both enjoy and excel at. Don't give up now. It's too early for giving up." Ventus honestly didn't know where he would be without Aqua; her support was one of the main reasons he even kept trying in the first place. "Besides, aren't you really good at sports? I heard you broke the school record for the 100-yard dash!"_

" _Yeah, like that'll give me a future." Sadly grabbing his box of apple juice, he pierced it rather harshly and started to sip on it, thoughts already on the dreadful homework he had to do for the day._

 _On his walk back home from school, the wind blew a piece of paper that stuck at his feet. Usually he would walk past it, but the amount of color invested in the poster caught his eye. Curious, he picked it up and frowned._

" _Keyblade?_ _ **Pfft**_ _, a key as a sword?" On the top of the page with a very attention-grabbing font was the phrase "Do you have what it takes?" In the middle of the poster was a picture of the weird weapon they called a Keyblade—it almost looked like a toy, but strangely enough at the same time, it didn't look like one either. Confused about what it was about, Ventus flipped the poster to read the info on the back. "Virtual reality, huh? That sounds pretty cool. Hm." Because this Keyblade had just begun to develop, Keywielders, the company behind it, were looking for talented people to wield it._ _ **Virtual reality as a sport? Funky.**_ _Ventus didn't know what to do with the poster, but slightly interested, he stuffed it in his pocket and resumed his way back home._

" _How was school today, son?"_

" _Good," Ventus grumbled as he climbed upstairs to his room. His father looked at his back sadly and sat back down at the kitchen table._

" _Honey, do you think he'll be able to go to college like this? College is ruthless."_

" _Don't talk about your son as if he's a lost cause. Ventus is a very intelligent young man, and you know that," his wife answered back, a bit upset at how her husband thought of their son like that. "Trust in our sweet boy."_

 _Upstairs, Ventus went onto his laptop and searched things up about the weird poster he saw—of course, it took a frustratingly long time. It frustrated him even more when he could barely read the article that was about it and instead went to watch a video._

" _The Keyblade, an evolutionary step towards the VR experience!" the narrator's voice sounded. "Discover your talent—discover the power."_

" _How cliché," Ventus laughed. "VR experience, huh?" Remembering what Aqua said about him being good at sports, Ventus wondered if he would be good at Keyblading. Based on the video, it was a pretty violent sport—a sport where you could easily get hurt. He didn't know why, but the whole idea seemed fascinating to him, even though it might've been a huge scam for all he knew. A sport using virtual reality._

 _ **That's super cool.**_

 _The next week, when Ventus came home with a D- in his reading comprehension test, his father became more furious than expected._

" _Ventus, what are you going to do with this grade, huh? This is atrocious!"_

" _Honey," Ventus's mom tried to calm him down. "Take it easy on him."_

" _Easy? Gosh, I understand that he's dyslexic, but it can't be that bad for him to get a D-! He's just not trying hard enough." Ventus stared at the middle of the dinner table—sometimes, even his dad didn't understand him. Not wanting to reply to his dad's anger, Ventus tried to change the subject._

" _I'm interested in something, Dad."_

" _What is it?" Ventus took out the crumpled poster and gave it to him. His dad took it within his hands and peered at it closely._

" _It's a virtual reality thing. I think it's a new sport in the making, and I want to give it a try—"_

" _Ventus, this is no time for playing games! You're doing bad at school, yet you have the time to look at silly things like this?" Ventus fumbled with the poster when his dad harshly threw it back at him. "Study more because you're obviously not doing enough of it. The next time you bring this type of grade back, I'll—"_

" _Dad, I thought we_ _ **fucking**_ _went over this already!" Ventus never cursed underneath the household. Both his parents gaped at him. "I'm dyslexic, Dad! Do you know what that even means? We went over this with the doctor so many times, we talked with specialists over and over and over again, and you still don't understand?_

" _It's hard! The words keep floating somewhere else, the lines always play tricks on me by switching places, and sometimes, a whole sentence just looks like a squished bug. It sucks to try so hard yet to see no improvement. It sucks to always stay afterschool to take a test because you can't keep up with everyone else. Kill me for bringing one bad grade home because I didn't want to deal with that anymore for a day!" Ventus didn't stay to hear what his father had to say to him before he exited out the kitchen and escape to his room._

 _The next day, Ventus did not immediately go back home. Ventus searched up the address of the only Keyblade arena in Destiny Islands and called a cab. With poster crumpled in his hand, Ventus anxiously awaited his arrival._

 _ **For once, I'm going to do what I want to do.**_

 _That day, a simple poster changed his life forever._

~.~.~

"Yeah, I didn't want to disclose my condition before, but I'm not afraid to say it now. Yes, I'm dyslexic," Ventus confessed on TV with a silly thumbs up towards the camera. "Reading is very difficult for me, which made the whole school thing such a drag," he stretched out the 'a' in drag, "College— _pfft—_ let's not even start there. But I'm getting better. Kids out there, I'm not saying school sucks and isn't important, so make sure you guys do well!"

"I'm sorry to hear that. I heard dyslexic people really struggle, and my heart sympathizes to all the people who are continuing to do their best despite the disadvantage. Congrats to you, Ventus," the lady who was interviewing said. "Though, I don't mean to be rude here, but how does that answer the question of what happened on that Keyblade stage last week? Surely, you knew the rules of the Keyblade Wars?"

"Yes, of course, I know the rules front and back!"

"…"

"…"

"… and isn't one of them the most obvious one of them all? No use of outside weapons?"

"Yup!"

"…" And right there and then, it seemed as if Ventus did a complete one-eighty in his personality.

"Even though it may seem like a huge exaggeration, Keyblading changed my life. I don't know what I would do if Keyblading never entered my life like that: with a single poster flying on the streets. So I give my thanks for Keywielders for making all this possible.

"However I have to thank the person who truly was behind all of this—the person who really made all this possible to begin with." Even though the lady definitely knew what he was talking about, she feigned cluelessness as she leaned in closer to ask the question everyone was dying to know just a month back.

"The person who truly was behind all of this? If you don't mind me asking, who is this person?" she asked excitedly. Ventus smiled.

"Hehe, who knows!"

"…"

"…"

In Sora's living room, all of them just remained silent.

 _This guy…_

"No, I'm just kidding. I have a message for the CEO of Keywielders though. Hopefully it won't take up too much time."  
"No, no, of course not! We're all dying to hear what you've got to say after a week of silence. Well, go on, the stage is yours. Hopefully he's watching!" Ventus tried not to laugh—of course, he would be watching. If he didn't keep a close eye on the guy who basically made a whole fiasco at his Keyblade War, Ventus would definitely question his sanity.

"Mr. Hikari, and the world, I'm sorry for the surprise, but by no means was my loss a joke or anything. For this Third Keyblade War, I wanted to win as a tribute for Sora and his father." As if on cue, the Ultima Keyblade was handed to Ventus by the side, and he showed it clearly for the camera. "This is one of the most beautiful designs of a Keyblade I've ever seen, and to be able to use it was an honor. Thanks, Sora, if you're out there watching." Axel and Riku patted Sora's back encouragingly while Roxas swung a shoulder over the astounded boy.

"I just want to say this: I didn't lose on purpose. I won, even though I broke the rules. I won with this exact Keyblade to show my thanks to Sora and his dad for creating such a beautiful thing that really changed my life. Even though the whole thing I pulled at the Keyblade War made a mess out of things, it was one of the only ways I thought would be sufficient enough to express my gratitude and appreciation towards Sora, his father, and even Keywielders. Keyblading is such a passion for me, and I hope my fans out there understand the reason for my official lost. And Xehanort, please don't feel upset about your win—I know the feeling of a fake victory more than anything. I assure you, I gave it my all during that match. You are one of the most difficult opponents I've ever faced in my Keyblading career, so cheers to you. It was a great match. To my fans, don't bash on him for me. He's a great Keyblade wielder, just like myself, so congratulate him!

"To wrap things up, Mr. Hikari, please don't be too harsh on Sora and Roxas. They're the future for this amazing sport. Give them both the recognition they deserve because they're also really passionate about what they do. To my fans and viewers, thanks for the support. This Third Keyblade War probably wasn't the one you guys wanted to see, but next time, I'll be better. This won't be my last Keyblade War~!"

It took a lot to make Sora cry, but when Ventus finished delivering his important message, he just couldn't help it. Everyone on the sofa gave him a group hug, allowing the silence to continue as Ventus discussed his plans until the next Keyblade War. Sora just knew it. He just did.

It was their victory this time.

~.~.~

"Ventus, I had no idea," Roxas said out of disbelief into the phone. When his phone rang with an unknown number, Roxas excused himself from everyone and went outside Sora's garage to talk. It surprised him greatly when it was Ventus who greeted him.

"Yahoo, didn't I say your questions would be answered?" Ventus replied in a silly manner. Roxas could just imagine the guy shooting his finger guns at him again.

"I… we—you didn't have to go that far," Roxas stammered. "It's your… _career_. This is your career you just put on the line!" Ventus's chuckles sounded through the phone.

"My child, my dear, dear child, it's fine."

"What do you mean, 'it's fine'?"

"Do you want to know something, Roxas?"

"What is it?"

"My career might be temporarily damaged, but you want to know something important?"

"Yeah?"

"This damage is temporary, but the effect is forever." Roxas swallowed the hitch in his throat. Ventus seemed to be more than what people perceived him to be. "My career can always recover—this world isn't going to find another awesome and handsome Keyblader like me—but what I had to do—what _we_ had to do—was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. I would be lying if I said I'm not at all affected by my loss, but I would also be lying if I said that I was heartless enough to not help you guys. There's always going to be another Keyblade War, but there isn't always going to be another chance like this."

"Ventus…"

"Cheer up, kiddo. I've done all I can. Hopefully it's enough. This is the least I could do for you guys."

"It's more than enough."

"How's Sora?"

"He's just… overwhelmed." Roxas had also teared up when the realization of what Ventus had done for them hit him. He couldn't imagine how Sora felt when he listened to it all. "I'm sure he'll contact you soon, so try to pick up?"

"Haha, sure."

"Ventus?"

"Yup?"

"Thanks a lot."

"Ah, don't thank me yet. I actually don't know how this is going to turn out, so keep your head up high, kiddo."

Even though Ventus had said that, they all knew that the fight was coming to an end.

Because of how large-scale the issue was about the Keyblade War, Sora, and Keywielders thanks to Ventus, the news raged. A huge fire roared and did not die out like last time. People demanded to know the truth from Mr. Hikari, and instead of getting bashed on, Ventus received enormous support from his fans and his viewers.

"Who knew Ventus Airius had such a background? A boy who gave it his all, despite the disadvantages—that is truly awesome," an article wrote online. "Ventus, we're glad you found the Keyblade, but we're also glad that the Keyblade found you."

Ventus did not stop there at his appearance on TV. He continued to put his own little inputs of what he thought about the whole ordeal.

"Keywielders is amazing, I'll have to say that, but do you know what I think could be even more amazing? A whole and complete image of Keywielders—an image that contains everything that we have to know about Keywielders." Sora and Roxas didn't even have to explain to Ventus their intentions about not attacking Mr. Hikari too ferociously. He too did not want Mr. Hikari to receive immense backlash, so he kept his comments light and soft.

Sora and Roxas did not stay inactive either. Tirelessly, they did what they had done before, continuing to express their claims and their sides of the story. Riku, Axel, Namine, and Kairi made sure to stay by their side for support while continuing on with their daily lives in college. To allow Sora some space after all the hectic activity, everyone stopped crashing his apartment.

Sora didn't want to admit it, but without their presence, he quickly became…

Lonely.

"This was the way it was before," he muttered into his pillow before he went to sleep for the night.

 _Ring, ring!_

Sora, who was already half-way towards sleep, was jolted back awake by the ring of his phone. Blindly searching for it, he grasped it and peered at the caller ID. Seeing who it was, he excitedly picked up the call, put it on speaker, and laid it next to him.

"Hey," he said gently but groggily. A giggle sounded.

"Sleeping?"

"Not really." Sora took his body pillow from the side and hugged it as he talked on the phone. Inside, he wished it was Kairi.

"Long day?"

"Mhm. Super long day." Shuffling was heard as Kairi moved around with the phone. Sora waited for her to finish what she was doing before he continued. "How about you?"

"Lab was horrible today. My partner probably had enough of me—didn't know how to build a circuit so I just kept asking for help like a lame-o I was." Sora chuckled as an image of Kairi holding two wires cluelessly popped up in his mind.

"Sounds cute."

"My lab is anything but cute."

"Physics lab though? Hey, you never told me what your major was though."

"Oh, I'm undeclared—haven't gotten my shit straight yet—so I'm just taking random classes I'm thinking is going to be useful."

"Good choice." As they continued talking, a warm feeling spread through Sora, and it made him realized how much he missed talking to her personally. Everyone was always together, so they never really had the chance to just be alone. There just never was an opportunity to have private time.

"Did you talk to Ventus?" More shuffling was heard over the call before it settled once more.

"Mhm, yup. He's actually not as dorky as everything thinks he is. People aren't lying when they say he's got it all, brains and looks."

"Definitely. People like that always has some sort of story, you know?"  
"Yup."

"…"

"How's your apartment? Happy and empty?"

"Hell yeah, it's great," he lied. Figuring that he won't be going back to sleep anytime soon, Sora propped the body pillow up against his wall and leaned on it. "Peace, silence, no stupidity—it's great." More shuffling.

"Yeah, sure," Kairi said, and he could imagine her just rolling her eyes at him. Sora sighed—when did she ever gain the power to know what he was thinking? "I bet you're just hugging your pillow pretending it's me or something." _What the fuck?_ Sora narrowed his eyes at the phone and started to look around warily—did she have a camera installed in his room or something?

"What are you doing right now? You at your sister's dorm?" Sora questioned, wanting to know the reason for all the shuffling.

"Uh, sure." Sora didn't catch the hesitation in her voice. He sighed and banged his head against the wall.

"I don't want to say it, but…"

"Lonely?" Sora licked his lips.

"Yeah."  
"Then open the door."

Sora instantly stood up, left his phone, and ran down the stairs. He didn't even care to check through the peephole as he swung the door open, revealing a Kairi who was staring confusingly at her phone.

"Gosh, did he just hang up on m—oh, there you are." Kairi held up a plastic bag in her hand and wiggled it with a smile. "I got us food in case you're hungry. I know I'm always hungry at midnight. Figured you would be lonely without any company for the past week, so hope you don't mind that I popped in. Sora?" She stopped her explanation of her visit when Sora just stared at her, hand still on the door knob. "You okay there, buddy?"

"Yeah, I'm just still a bit sleepy."

"You going to let me in, or…?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah," Sora took a step to the side to let Kairi in, who reveled in the warmth of his apartment. He shut the door and followed her upstairs since that was where she apparently wanted to go.

"If you were going to come, you should've told me earlier," Sora said as he followed her footsteps. Kairi smiled.

"I wanted it to be a surprise since I'm sure you're just _dying_ in loneliness."  
"Was not."

"Geez, you really don't admit to these types of things easily, do you?" Kairi opened the door to his room as if it was her own and plopped down on the chair at his desk. He took the seat on his bed.

"What you got there?" Sora signaled towards the bag. Kairi opened it, and the smell of fried food wafted underneath his nose.

"Aerith's Burgers. Didn't know the place opened until three a.m." Kairi took a fry and shoved it into Sora's mouth without warning. Sora nearly choked on it before he chewed. "I was craving fast food, so here you go."

"We're on the same wavelength for once," Sora grinned, opening his mouth for more. "What's with the sudden change of heart though?"

"Huh? What change of heart?"

Sora checked the time on his phone: 12:36 a.m.

"Curfew," Sora answered with a raised eyebrow. Kairi smiled.

"Haven't you ever broken curfew as a kid?"

"Fair enough."

After they finished eating, Kairi threw away the trash and went to wash her hands in the sink. Being a baby, Sora didn't touch anything as Kairi fed him. Feeling that his stomach wouldn't hurt too much, Sora plopped down on bed and waited for Kairi to come back.

"What have you been doing though besides all the crazy stuff?" Kairi asked when she came back.

"Missing you," he blurted impulsively. He didn't regret it, though. Kairi simply laughed and sat on his bed, hand running through his hair lovingly.

"I'm here," she replied softly. Sora nodded as he closed his eyes, liking it whenever Kairi touched his hair. "Riku and Axel miss you too, you know."

"They have each other, it's fine," Sora half-mumbled into his pillow. "Plus, it's not like they've heard zilch about me. Our group chat is on fire with their obnoxious messaging."

"Sounds like them."

"Yup."

"How's your uncle?"

"Being a bitch, that's what," Sora growled in response. "But it's fine. All in due time. We've got this." _He'll crumble soon._ There was no way he was going to hide away from this one. It had only been three days since Ventus's appearance on TV—Sora figured there wasn't much time left for him anyway.

"Nice to know that you're confident."

"Yup."

Sora didn't know how much time passed before his consciousness started to slip back into sleep. He was awakened once more, however, when he felt a shift on his bed. Opening his eyes, he saw Kairi's figure standing above the bed.

"Oops, did I wake you?" Sora shook his head and half-sat up.

"Where are you going?"

"It's getting kind of late. I think I'm going to go back now. Sleep well, okay?" She bent down and shyly gave Sora a kiss on the cheek good bye. "I'll see you tomorrow maybe if I can catch you in between classes," she said softly.

She took her purse from the table and went towards the door, but Sora grabbed her wrist. She turned around. He didn't say anything. He just simply looked at her.

She gave him a kiss on the other cheek.

He kissed her cheek back.

She kissed him again on the cheek.

Sora kissed her on the lips.

Kairi found herself falling back onto the bed, purse forgotten on the ground.

"Just stay here. With me."

"… Okay." Sora, too tired to even say anymore, snuggled into the crook of Kairi's neck and held her soft body within his arms, glad that it wasn't the body pillow anymore. Kairi was uncomfortable—she wasn't used to snuggling—but not wanting to disturb the way-too-tired boy, she stayed still and allowed him to sleep in peace. Eventually, the silence of the night lulled her to sleep, and Kairi soon fell into the land of dreams.

~ _The Next Day~_

"It is true. My brother, Sora's father, was the one who came up with the idea of the Keyblade. He is the original creator of the Keyblade, and he is the one behind the idea of virtual reality battling. Inspired by his innovation, I created Keywielders based on his ideas. I am sorry for keeping this away from the public for so long—I never had the chance to reveal such an important detail."

Sora and Roxas high-fived each other in victory.

"Never had the chance to reveal? Bullshit," Sora muttered, lowering the volume of the TV by a tiny notch. "He finally gave in, huh?"

"Ventus and his fans are no joke," Roxas said, shaking his head slightly in awe. "Ventus wasn't lying when he said he could turn the tide around. Who knew we had the element of emotions at our disposal? Because of his inspiring past… just wow."

"Caught me by surprise too," Sora admitted. "Worked out for the better. Who could turn a blind eye on that?" Indeed, Roxas's father probably didn't expect it either. Roxas told Sora that his father believed anything they planned to do was futile, so he didn't even bother worrying about the two youngsters.

This is what he got for not listening to them.

"Your dad's still going to look bad, but at least it's not the worst."

"Don't even feel sorry, even for the tiniest bit. He needs to do some repenting during this time period."

"What, and you don't?" Roxas's heart leapt, but it calmed down when he realized that Sora was merely joking.

"Been doing it for too long. Let me have a break."

The two cousins sat there as they continued to watch the news. The feeling both of them had was strange—they were glad that it was their victory at the end, but at the same time, they also felt a bittersweet twinge.

Roxas's redemption and Sora's struggle—it really was over. Finally, they could breathe normally again without the weight of a thousand boulders on their shoulders.

It felt weird for the both of them to be free.

"You going to be okay though?" Sora asked, a bit concerned about Roxas's family situation now. "Things personally won't look pretty for you in a while." Roxas sighed as he put his hands behind his head and leaned against the sofa of Sora's living room.

"It's fine. Not like I've never had problems with them before. My mom's been super annoying, She keeps whining about how I 'betrayed the family' and 'ruined the family name' and 'made us a laughing stock' and so on." Sora cringed.

"Not surprised." Roxas's mom was a person who really cared about reputation or whatnot, even when she didn't even lift a finger herself to earn any.

"As for my dad, same old stuff, though he's much quieter than my mom. He just gives me harsh glares and speaks to me in a more demanding tone now. If anything, he has admitted defeat and is just recovering from it by lashing it out on me," Roxas grinned and waved a hand, "But no worries though. We're son and dad, mother and son. They can't hold a grudge forever. They'll get over it."

"I hope they get over it or else I'll never meet them ever again."

"Yeah, dude, won't blame ya." Roxas let out a hum before a question popped up in his mind. "Hey, Sora."

"Yeah?"

"What do you plan on doing now?" Sora blinked. Roxas blinked back. Sora then wore a frown.

He actually never thought about what he was going to do next. All he thought about was winning the battle, but now that the battle was over…

 _What do I do next?_

"I have no idea. But for now, I think I'm just going to finish college first, then I'll think about it."

"Fair enough."

"What about you?"

" _Pfft_ , same. That's why we're here, aren't we?"

Sora decided to worry about the whole thing with Keywielders in the future. For now, he'll let his uncle manage the whole thing until the time comes. Until then, Sora was determined to go back to his life as a normal college student and continue doing normal college things.

Including managing a relationship.

~.~.~

"Axel, why the fuck are we out here at the dead of night at some shady ass park?"

"Shh, Riku, shh!"

"Please tell me why I'm out here."

"Roxas, everything will be explained—it really will be."

"And why am _I_ here?"

"Namine, I swear, I didn't call you out here for no reason either."

Riku, Axel, Roxas, and Namine were out in some park at 11 p.m. after being called out by Axel for a "special meeting." All of them had no idea what Axel had in store, but they'd rather not find out.

"Guys, guys, guys, we're back to being normal college students, right?"

"We always were," Riku deadpanned. "What's your point?" Axel started to do exaggerated movements as he signaled everyone to huddle closer, as if he was afraid someone would eavesdrop on their conversation despite the fact that no one else besides them were at the park.

"We're all good friends, right?"

"Just get to the point," Riku repeated.

"As good friends, we have to do the duties of good friends."

"I have a lab report to turn in at twelve so hurry up," Roxas urged. Axel looked side to side, making sure no one else was near them before he decided to spill.

"We all know Kairi and Sora have a thing for each other, right? As good friends, let's help them get together."

"…"

"…"

"…"

The crickets chirped happily in the night.

"Namine, you need a ride back home?" Roxas asked. Namine nodded.

"Pronto."

"Hey, wait up, I'm going too," Riku said, already fishing out his keys from his pocket. Axel's jaw dropped onto the ground as he kept everyone from dispersing the circle.

"Guys, guys, did you guys not hear what I said?"

"Oh, we heard you, loud and clear. And do you know what we also found out?" Riku asked.

"…What?"

"You're as blind as a bat."

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?"

"I think Sora and Kairi are already together… they just haven't told us. I don't blame them though. Things _have_ been crazy," Namine explained, causing Axel to shoot his questioning eyes at her.

"Wait what? Seriously?"

"Have you not seen the loving looks they've been exchanging?" Roxas added, starting to feel a bit concerned about Axel. "Kairi hangs out at his apartment a lot too if you haven't noticed that either…"

"…"

Roxas took out his keys.

"Let's go back, shall we?"

In a matter of moments, Axel found himself alone in the park, deeply questioning how he never saw it.

"And I thought I was the smart one out of all of them…"

Back at Sora's apartment, Sora sneezed.

"Bless you," Kairi said as she lazily went through the channels on TV. She had a hard time finding something good to watch.

"Thanks," Sora grumbled. "I bet someone's shit talking about me right now."

"Language, Sora, language."

"Yes, Mom."

~.~.~

"Roxas!" Roxas forced a smile on his face as he looked up at Xion, who was running towards him. He had been waiting for her by a random table on campus.

"Hey, Xion," he greeted awkwardly. It had been a long while since he had seen her.

And within that long while, everyone had told him their side of the stories about Xion—things he never ever knew.

 _"We got one more problem to deal with guys, but no worries, it's going to be quick and simple. Roxas, you just have to tell her off. I'm pretty sure she'll stop her shenanigans if she hears it directly from you."_

 _"Uh, who are we talking about here?" Roxas asked, very, very confused._

 _"She's a psychopath, Roxas," Kairi stated blankly. This got Roxas even more confused._

 _"How?" And then came the barrage._

 _"She tried to make me give up on Keywielders," Sora deadpanned._

 _"She threw water at me near Christmas time," Namine confessed._

 _"She pulled my hair like a bitch she was," Kairi continued._

 _"She lies underneath your nose all the time, you know," Axel added._

 _"She got together with me only to get closer to you," Sora inputted some more._

 _"And she kissed him in front of me on purpose to piss me off," Kairi added some more._

 _"Also, I forgot to mention—"_

 _"Sora, you're mentioning a lot of things here. It doesn't seem like you've forgotten," Roxas interjected weakly. Sora rolled his eyes._

 _"You know how your father intervened during your birthday banquet?"  
"What about it?"_

 _"Yeah, Xion was the one who did that. She spied on us—I don't even know how she knew where we were—and reported it to your dad like the lunatic she was."_

 _"And—" Before Riku could even add his opinion about the raven-haired girl, Roxas nearly fainted before Axel steadied him._

 _"Okay, okay… I get it, I get it… I'll try to do something about it."_

"Why'd you call me out here, Roxas? Actually, perfect timing—shouldn't we go get some lunch?" She pulled at Roxas's arm, expecting him to follow, but she was in for a shock when Roxas did not budge from his position.

"I'm not here to go eat lunch with you," Roxas firmly said. He tried not to break his façade when a sad look crossed Xion's features. "We need to talk." Xion cocked her head to the side innocently.

"About what?" _Wow, Riku wasn't wrong when he said she twists me around her finger._

"You are—were—one of my best friends, Xion, since middle school," Roxas started. Xion definitely didn't miss his use of past tense. Roxas was a very weak character, so when he saw the slightest of flashes in Xion's eyes, he slowly became afraid. "But I'm afraid we can't be anymore."

"Roxas, what are you—"

"They told me everything, Xion." This shut her up. "Sora, Kairi, Namine, Axel, Riku—they told me what you did to them. I don't like it."

Then, Xion finally showed her true colors.  
"Roxas… you've known me longer than all of them. Who are you going to believe, me or those sly witches?" Her overconfidence backfired, for when Xion tried to reach her hand to cup Roxas's face, he violently took a step back.

"I think you already know my answer."

And Roxas walked away.

~.~.~

It was a regular Saturday night of movie watching when Kairi threw him an unexpected offer.

"Hey, Sora, I got a question for you?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"There's a one-week break coming up."

"Oh yeah, in celebration for the recapture of Radiant Garden, right? What about it?"

"Spit it out."

"Want to visit Destiny Islands with me?"

* * *

I know guys, I know, there's only one that best describes this chapter.

RUSHED.

I hella cramped in Xion's part, but it's okay-I don't think I want to spend more time on her character (EVEN THOUGH I LOVE HER IN THE KH SERIES)

There is probably only going to be two chapters left (but I think they'll pretty be lengthy). My mind started to overload at the whole Sora vs his uncle thing to the point where writers block was seriously making me rush it, so I'm sorry guys ToT! I tried to flesh it out as much as possible, but lol i'm a new writer guys who somehow made a 200k+ word fanfic pls spare me.

Because I'm a rookie writer, I didn't expect to stretch it and drag this fanfic out for this long so apologies again xDDDD

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! The end is coming soon weeeeee


	27. Chapter 27

"What in the world… how the fuck did all of you guys manage to tag along?" Sora deadpanned as he surveyed the group in front of him. His brain went back in time to remember what Kairi had said.

 _"Yeah, just you, me, and Namine."_

He definitely felt awkward and uncomfortable the moment he realized that he was the only sore thumb sticking out—was he going to meet her parents already like this? They would definitely be suspicious of him if he was the only person—the only _guy_ —that the two sisters brought back to the islands. He had given Kairi a strange look, but because she looked as normal as day, he didn't bother asking her what _she_ thought about the whole ordeal.

Maybe telling her parents she had a boyfriend wasn't a big deal to her.

However, now that he saw his cousin and his two doofus friends with their own respective luggage at the airport, he wasn't sure which situation he liked better.

"Funny story," Kairi said with an awkward laugh. She had totally forgotten to tell Sora about what happened. Sora gave her a suspicious look.

"Do tell, do tell."

"I was video-calling my mom in the loud-area of the library," she started. "And then…"

"I popped in," Riku continued for her, a finger pointing at himself. "I had no clue she was on a video-call so I just popped right on in to say hi." When they both stopped explaining, Sora frowned.

"I'm not following."

"My mom insisted to bring him," Kairi finished. "She said that I—we," Kairi pointed between her and Namine, "could bring as many people as we want as long as they all fit in the two guest's rooms we have, so… She _really_ wants to meet all my friends for some reason." Sora continued to give her a look, as if he wasn't buying it, before he looked at Axel."

"Doesn't explain you."

"Saw Riku packing. Asked him where he was going. Said you were going. What you think, man? This pack of awesomeness cannot be left behind—of course, I want to go too! It's alright, right, Kairi?" Kairi gave a sheepish thumbs up. Sora then looked at Roxas. He definitely didn't look like he wanted to be here but he was here anyway.

"And you?"

"It's called blackmail, my friend, blackmail," Axel answered for him with a devilish grin. "I can't leave my lover behind. Namine doesn't mind, right, Namine?" Namine gave Axel a confused look, clueless on why Axel was suddenly pointing her out, before giving a hesitant nod.

"I don't mind."

Sora rolled his eyes, understanding what this "blackmail" was, before admitting defeat. Inside, he kind of felt bad for Kairi—his friends just invited themselves to her place without really letting her have a say.

 _As long as she's okay with it._

"Don't blame me if your house catches on fire," Sora muttered to Kairi before he made his way towards the line for baggage check.

"I actually haven't gone on a plane for a while. Last time I did was when the family went on vacation to Radiant Garden," Kairi commented as she waited in line with everyone. "We usually go by ship."

"How's the weather in Destiny Islands though? Everyone always talks about how it's always the right temperature at any season of the year," Riku asked, truly curious. He had never been to Destiny Islands before.

"It's alright," Namine answered. "It's kind of biased though since people usually only visit in the summer. They don't get a taste of the true winter."

"True winter in Destiny Islands is nowhere near Twilight Town's," Sora muttered as he scrolled through his phone. "It could be fifty-degree weather and you'll still see people wearing shorts here." When no one responded to his comment, he looked up from his phone and instinctively backed away when everyone besides Roxas gave him weird stares. He cleared his throat. "What?"

"How would you know?" Kairi asked. "I thought you never visited Destiny Islands before." Sora tilted his head to the side slightly in wonder.

"I thought I told you before."

"Told me what?"

"I'm from Destiny Islands." Everyone ogled him like he was a freak show. "Why are you guys looking at me like that? I thought I told you. Riku, Axel, what the hell?"

"Dude, I thought you were from Radiant Garden!"

"Wait, I thought he was from Daybreak Town."

"…"

"I thought you were from Traverse Town?" Kairi joined in, utterly confused. Sora truly wondered whether his friends were actually his friends at all.

"Okay, I definitely remember telling you that I moved here when I was young," Sora explained, remembering their conversation back in December. Kairi nodded, remembering that part.

"But you said you were from Traverse Town."

"I lived there, but I was born in Destiny Islands. Moved to Traverse Town later in my early life. And then I moved to Twilight Town because of him," Sora pointed to Roxas. "Riku, Axel, I have no idea where you got Radiant Garden and Daybreak Town from. Thanks a lot."

"Sorry," the both of them said simultaneously.

"How come you never mentioned that?" Kairi asked, finding it a wonderful coincidence that the both of them were from Destiny Islands. "We could've related to so many things!" Sora shrugged once more—he wasn't particularly as interested as she was about this coincidence. He barely remembered his life back at Destiny Islands—a life when both his parents were still alive.

He didn't want to admit to her that everything was simply a blur to him.

"There was never an opportunity to mention it. Let's go, let's go, the line's moving."

They sat on the plane by pairs in three rows. Sora was about to sit next to Kairi—since that should be normal—but the moment he stepped on the plane, Riku and Axel dragged him away from the redhead and sat him next to Roxas, completely away from Kairi.

"What are you guys doing?" Sora complained. He watched as Namine confusingly sat next to Kairi. Riku and Axel sat in front of them, effectively blocking his view of Kairi.

"We gotta have a boys' talk," Axel said in his fake serious voice, turning around in his seat to face Roxas and Sora.

"And pronto," Riku said with a nod. Sora sighed; he already had a bad feeling.

"This is going to be a three-hour plane trip. Let him sit wherever he wants," Roxas tried to aid Sora, but this only made Riku and Axel smile wider.

"Indeed, it will be a three-hour plane trip. Tell me, Roxas, where would Sora want to sit?" Axel asked mischievously. Sora started to get the idea about where this was heading and simply leaned the side of his face on his propped hand, not amused.

"Excuse me?"

"Where do you think Sora wants to sit?" Riku rephrased for Axel. Not believing that it was a trick question, Roxas answered.

"Um, Kairi?"

Axel snapped his fingers and pointed at Roxas for a dramatic effect.

"And why do you think he wants to sit next to Kairi?" Finally understanding what they were doing, Roxas sighed and simply looked out the window of the airplane as people continued to sit and load their things.

"Sora, why didn't you tell us?" Riku whined. "I thought I was your best friend!"

"Tell you what?" Sora nonchalantly said, playing dumb. Riku exaggerated a sniff.

"That you and Kairi were together!"

Sora wasn't a vocal person about these things. It wasn't like he wanted to keep it a secret—he just didn't know how and when to say it. He thought it would be weird to just announce it out of nowhere when the subject was nowhere near his romantic life.

"Never found the chance to," he decided to answer truthfully. Then he became curious. "How'd you guys know we were together? Sounds like you guys knew for a while but didn't say anything." Axel crossed his arms.

"It's not as if I'm as blind as a bat or anything. Who do you take me for?"

"Right…" Roxas muttered underneath his breath. When the eyes turned to look at him, he turned his body more towards the window. He wasn't in the mood to talk about romance when he barely had any in the first place.

"Please, ever since Roxas's birthday banquet, the atmosphere between you two suddenly changed. I started to see pink and sparkles every time you guys were together—it was hideous," Riku said, mocking a gag as he put a finger in his mouth. Sora frowned—did they really acted different? He didn't think they acted any differently since they barely even had time to spend with each other because of all the ruckus.

"You lie."

"I do not! Acting all lovey-dovey, shooting secret flirty looks. I would know since I'm a pro."

"A pro who hasn't had a girlfriend this whole entire year," Axel hissed. "Where the girls at, Riku? Hm, hm? That's right— _nowhere_. I think you should cut that hair of yours. Get a fresh look instead of looking like an emo kid with his hair covering his eyes constantly." Riku defensively touched his long hair and glared at Riku.

"This is what the chicks dig, okay?"

"The 1980's look? We're in the twenty-third century, dude, twenty-third!"

"So you're saying your red hair gets all the ladies?"

Sora smiled a small smile as Axel and Riku bickered.

Things were slowly getting back to normal, including his friends and their issues with girls. He never thought he would ever miss these stupid and meaningless conversations.

"Axel, we're on a mission to probe Sora. We are digressing from the important issue! So, so?" Riku wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Sora, making him slightly uncomfortable. "When did you guys get together? How long, how long?"

"Who keeps count?" Sora muttered, trying to sound uncaring. Of course, he kept count, but he wasn't going to admit that.

"I don't think Kairi will appreciate that," Axel cooed. "Don't tell me don't know what your guys' anniversary date, do you?" Sora stifled a laugh, which irked the three of them.

"Oh, it's an easy one to remember. Not sure how comfortable Roxas will feel though," Sora snickered, giving a glance towards his cousin. The blonde confusingly pointed at himself.

"Me? What about me?"

"Remember your birthday banquet?"

"Who wouldn't?"

Sora just left it at that and allowed time for them to guess what he was hinting at. Riku was the first one who got since he was the one who left the two alone in the park that time.

"Holy shit, you guys got together right then and there? Bro, you're fast, aren't you!" Riku shook his head, as if Sora had just bested him. "You learn from the best, don't you? Should've known."

"Dude, honestly, shut up," Axel spat jokingly.

"B-birthday? Wait, you guys got together on my birthday? Oh gosh, now I feel weird," Roxas stuttered. "I definitely won't forget this…"

"And, and?" Axel probed even more.

"And what?" Sora responded irritably. Axel and Riku wiggled their eyebrows at the same time, creeping the hell out of Sora.

"Don't act dumb—how far have you guys gone?"

"Excuse me?" The wiggling of the eyebrows continued. When Sora realized what they were asking, he simply coughed and looked out the window with Roxas to avoid their observing gazes. However, he couldn't fight down the redness that tinted his cheeks slightly. When Axel and Riku leaned even closer over the seats, he had to push them away with his hands. "Stop, you guys are embarrassing me. Sit down already."

"Sora! Embarrassed! What has the world come to?"

As the four guys talked, Kairi and Namine were simply on their phones.

"So, how are you going to explain this?" Namine said, amusement lacing her words. Kairi paused on her activity with her phone to address her sister.

"Explain what?"

Namine signaled with a small motion of her head towards the packs of testosterones behind them and sighed when Riku and Axel could be heard bickering about stupid things again.

"Mom and Dad are going to get loads of fun. I don't think Dad is going to approve. No boys in college remember?" Namine reminded. Kairi simply rolled her eyes and returned her eyes back on her phone.

"You know, sometimes, they just need to be _exposed_. Give them a small shock and they'll just get used to it. They can't expect me to not find love in college," Kairi laughed. But Namine had a point—their parents were probably going to be surprised out of their wits when they see their two daughters bring four dudes back home. If Kairi was correct, her mom knew four people were coming, but she didn't know they were all guys. "It's okay, what's the worst they can do?"

~ _Four hours later~_

"Tifa, are you alright?" Cloud asked out of concern when he saw his wife wobble slightly. Tifa put a hand over her forehead as she surveyed the view in front of her.

"Yes, dear, yes, I'm quite alright…" She fanned herself with a hand. "I'm okay, I am."

"Mom! Dad!" Kairi and Namine rushed towards their parents, leaving their suitcases behind as they engulfed both their parents in hugs. The last time they saw them was when they departed. They never did have the chance to go back for winter break.

"It's good to see you guys again too," Cloud said, but his attention was barely on them as he shot his stares at the four boys who were awkwardly standing by the sidelines. They too didn't seem to realize how bad and awkward it would be when they all met the parents.

"You guys sure made a lot of friends… and they're not girls," Tifa stated the obvious. She tried to laugh, but it came out as some strangled sound instead. Roxas was the first to step up and be polite.

"Hi, I'm Roxas Hikari. Thanks for letting us, uh, visit," he said with a smile. "Destiny Islands is a beautiful place." He was not just flattering them. Already, when they stepped foot off the plane and went outside the airport, the ocean breeze greeted them amiably. The blue of the sea seemed to surround the land at the outskirts no matter where they looked and palm trees stood high up in the sky. The sight amazed everyone besides Sora.

Sora tried not to show it, but he was reluctant to be back on the islands.

"I'm Axel," the flamehead said next. Kairi and Namine tried not to laugh at their parents' expressions at his red hair.

"I'm Riku."

"Ah, the boy I saw! Wow, you're taller than I thought," Tifa said, recognizing him very easily by the color of his hair. She then looked at his arms. "And more muscular too," she whispered to Kairi. Sora was the last one to introduce himself, and it took him a while too. It was Riku who nudged him with a shoulder and snapped him out of his daze.

"Hello, my name's Sora Hikari. Yeah, we're cousins," he said the last part when the parents gave a side glance at Roxas.

"Welcome to Destiny Islands. Hope you guys get to do a lot of things in this one week break," Tifa welcomed, her shock wearing away already. However, Kairi and Namine knew she was bound to ask them questions later.

"Dad, is something wrong?" Namine asked when she saw Cloud just continuing to observe the boys. He shook his head and managed a ghost of a smile at his daughter.

"Nothing. They just look kind of… familiar."

Kairi and Namine exchanged looks before softly giggling—their parents didn't seem to recognize the big shots yet.

The way back in the car was anything but rowdy compared to the plane trip. Everyone seemed to catch the drift that Kairi's and Namine's dad was a man of few words. He had a very intimidating aura too, so even Riku and Axel didn't dare to make any noise. It was Roxas again who even attempted to speak.

"Mister, uh…"

"Lockhart. Or Strife. Either works." Roxas blinked—which one was the correct one? Kairi mouthed "Lockhart." Strife was the last name of her grandfather, but because her grandparents were divorced, her dad took on the last name of her grandmother instead.

"Mr. Lockhart, correct me if I'm wrong, but do you work as a programmer for a military weapon organization?" Kairi and Namine could see their father's eyebrows shoot up in surprise before he answered.

"Why, yes. Yes, I do. Did my daughters tell you?" Roxas shook his head, but realizing that Cloud's eyes were on the road, he responded.

"No, I just, uh, heard things about you." Roxas definitely wouldn't feel comfortable if he just introduced himself as the son of the CEO of Keywielders and confess that he has heard about a Cloud before. "I just wanted to say that that's cool."

"Thanks," was Cloud's simple reply. Roxas didn't really have much left to say, so he just kept quiet for the rest of the trip.

"Is it me, or is your dad one of the scariest yet coolest guys I've ever seen in my life?" Riku whispered to Kairi from the back-back seat. "He's scarier though than cool."  
"He means no harm," Kairi assured, finding it funny how the guys were just cowering behind the seats. "What happened to all the energy in the plane, though?"

"We got… tired."

"Sure…"

Kairi glanced at Sora, who sat next to her, and poked him on the arm to gain his attention. He lazily shot her a look back but looked away again when she failed to say anything. Kairi tried not to frown.

Sora was acting rather cold.

When they arrived back to the sisters' home, Kairi and Namine led the four boys to the two guest rooms. Since they didn't they expect for the whole crew to tag along, they had to split the rooms with each other.

"Which one do you think is Kairi's boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?" Cloud questioned his wife. "What do you mean?" Tifa hit her husband's shoulder playfully as they hung around in the kitchen.

"Namine doesn't seem to have a boy yet—I can just tell—but Kairi's different. So, which one, which one?"

"None."

"I think it's the silver-haired guy. They seem awfully close." As if on cue, Kairi and Riku walked out towards the kitchen to explore the house while the rest were still unpacking.

"You sure didn't pack a lot of clothes."

"Of course not, since I'm going to be half-naked most of the time."

"Pardon?"

"The beaches are where the ladies hang." Kairi rolled her eyes at Riku's playboy attitude and went to fetch herself a glass of water.

"This is a nice place," Riku said to her parents, hoping to make a better impression. Tifa smiled while Cloud just continued reading the newspaper in his hands.

"Thank you. Hope you guys feel at home for a week." Riku started to feel uncomfortable when Tifa started to analyze him from top to bottom before smiling wider at him. "Passable."

"Um, pardon?"

"Nothing, nothing! When you guys are done, why don't you guys go in the back," Tifa glanced at the clock on the wall, "It's a bit too late to go to the beach, but we actually have some fireworks to celebrate the recapture of Radiant Garden. Take some with you guys and light them up in our way-too-big backyard! You guys can all go to the beach tomorrow during the daytime."

"Will do, Mom."

Roxas and Axel came from their rooms and out into the kitchen too. For once, Axel was well-behaved as he waited for any activity they were going to do. When Kairi waved the pack of sparklers in her hand at the pyromaniac, his eyes lit up and he nodded excitedly.

"Where's Sora and Namine?" Axel rolled his eyes and jerked a thumb towards Namine's—well, it was Kairi's as well—room.

"They're having a geek moment inside. Namine has some sort of ultimate high-quality computer and Sora just _has_ to check out for some reason," Axel explained. Kairi frowned, not quite believing Axel. She had noticed that Sora was quite distant the moment they landed, but she had thought that it was just a figment of her imagination.

Inside the room, Sora sat at the edge of Namine's bed while she leaned against a table.

"Are you scared or something?" she asked. Their "geek" moment lasted only a minute. Now, they were just in the room awkwardly as Sora, for some reason, didn't budge. Sora shot a glance at Namine before shaking his head and sighing.

"Feels awkward."

"Never knew Sora Hikari could feel…awkward." Namine honestly wasn't trying to insult him—she just really didn't expect it. "Aren't you usually confident? You're being quite meek right now." Sora never really talked to Namine, so having this type of talk with her felt strange. Considering the fact that they weren't really close, Sora didn't feel comfortable telling her what made him all fidgety besides meeting Kairi's parents.

"Feeling a bit under the weather," was what he settled for. Namine crossed her arms and gave him the "yeah, right" look before she made him stand up with a pull on his sleeve. Because his jacket was unzipped, it fell off of his shoulder to reveal the plain white T-shirt he had on.

"C'mon, let's go. It's no time to gloom around. After all, you have to make a good impression on my parents for Kairi, right?" She did not intend to sit there and console Sora.

"Wait, can't I just chill here a bit long—"

"No, c'mon." Sora reluctantly allowed Namine to drag him by the sleeve of his jacket and out towards the kitchen, where everyone was waiting for them. Sora roughly pulled his jacket back up his shoulder when Namine finally let him go. He could feel Kairi's observant stare as he looked somewhere not at her.

"So, you guys had a fun geek moment, huh?" she asked. Namine gave a thumbs up, a poker face plastered on.

"Yup—"

"—Sure," the both of them said simultaneously.

"So, what's the plan? What are we doing?" Namine asked with a smile. She was glad to be back home. Kairi waved the packet of sparklers in her hand once more and signaled towards the backyard.

"Gon' have some fiery fun. Shall we head out?"

Axel was the first to light the sparklers up five at a time, cackling rather evilly as the sparks flew wildly. They lit up the backyard as more and more sparklers were set on fire.

"I haven't played with these since I was a kid!" Riku laughed as he whipped it around in a circle.

"Fire hazard, Riku, fire hazard!" Kairi half-yelled, half-shouted as she pointed towards the plants by the side.

Inside, Tifa grinned while her husband continued to give the college kids an unamused look. He specifically glared at the silver-haired boy for being so close to his daughter.

"I'm telling you, hon, I'm telling you!"

"Not going to talk to Sora?" Riku suddenly asked. The mention of Sora made the smile on Kairi's face falter before it completely dropped. She heaved a huge depressed sigh before nodding.

"I don't know. He's suddenly quiet and cold. I think I'll feel super awkward if I go talk to him only to get shut down." Kairi remembered all the moments where he shut her away during the beginnings of their friendship—she didn't want to go down that road again. Riku took a short look at his best friend and simply shrugged.

"He's probably just nervous."

"You think so?"

"Sora's odd like that, so. He'll probably warm up to this environment soon, so give him some time." Kairi glumly nodded in agreement. She wanted to have fun with Sora every minute they were here, but she guessed she had to be patient. "I'm surprised you're not scared though."

"Of?"

"Your parents. You brazenly just brought your boyfriend home, along with three other dudes. Sorry about the last part though." Riku wiggled his eyebrows at her, earning a laugh from her. "You not afraid? Especially with your dad." Kairi shook her head. Remembering how things were with Vanitas, she didn't want to keep another relationship a secret. It would kill her, especially since it was Sora they were talking about.

"I'm kind of tired of hiding. Plus, Sora isn't a bad guy. Sure, they might be surprised, but I'm not ashamed of him or anything. I want them to know."

"How cute. Girlfriend proud of her boyfriend, huh?"

"Oh, just shut it."

From outside, Namine could see her mother looking at Riku inside, and she knew what kind of look that was from a mile away. She glanced over at Sora, who for some darn reason kept sticking by her side like some lost puppy. While Kairi was with Riku and Roxas with Axel, Sora decided to just stay with Namine—since they were both loners to some degree. She never knew Sora had this side of him as she shoved a sparkler at him that was way too close for comfort.

"What the—" Sora stopped himself from cursing as he threw daggers at Namine with his eyes. She returned the look.

"I feel like a mom whose son can't make friends," Namine exasperated as she waved her sparkler at him. "Stop sticking onto me and go talk to Kairi! Oh gosh, my mom is looking at me now. Shoo, shoo!"

"No, I feel uncomfortable—Namine, don't put that near me."

"Are you seriously going to do this?" Sora glumly looked at his sparkler which was dissipating rapidly.

"Do what?"

"You're going to make Kairi sad, you know." He finally looked up at Namine to see her with a disappointed expression. Sora suddenly felt the heavy weight of guilt on his chest when he thought about Kairi. "You know she wanted you to come so that she could spend time with you here in the islands, right?" Sora bit his bottom lip—he hadn't realized that. "It takes a lot of guts to just bring your boyfriend home. She's facing it head-on while you're just hiding away like this because it's out of your comfort zone."

"Well, it's not just that…"

"It doesn't matter. Sort it out with her instead of hiding from her. Dude, my mom thinks Riku is her boyfriend! Seriously, are you just going to let her think that?"

"Riku?" Sora asked, flabbergasted. Namine shook her head and shooed him with her hands.

"You're not making a good impression right now. Go!" Namine pushed him towards the direction of Kairi and Riku and gave him a reassuring smile. Sora sucked his lips in and hesitantly made his way towards Kairi. He wasn't sure what he would even say—he never realized how hard it was to talk to Kairi when it wasn't natural until now—but with the feeling of Namine's death stare on his back, he just moved forward.

"Hey, hey, lover boy is coming," Riku teased as he tapped his knee with Kairi's. At his words, Kairi looked to her right to see Sora walking over towards them. Her heart thumped as he got closer, and before she knew it, Riku left and Sora replaced him.

"Honey, oh my gosh, another boy just came. What was his name again, Sora?" Tifa squealed as she tapped her husband repeatedly so that he could look up. When he did, he simply frowned and sighed.

"Where have I seen this face before?"

"Hey," Sora muttered as he squatted down next to Kairi.

"Hi," she responded shyly back, suddenly interested in her sparkler.

"Don't look too closely at it or else it'll fling in your eyes or something," he lightly joked as he put a hand over hers and lowered the sparkler further away from her. "Something that probably would happen."  
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Kairi asked defensively, earning a chuckle from him.

"Just means that I have to always look out for you," Sora's gaze filled with warmth as he directed his complete attention on her. Kairi smiled—she wouldn't mind that. Not one bit.

"Are you… feeling okay, though?" she finally asked, wondering what was wrong with him. Sora gave her a guilty look—he really did make her worry about him. He simply shook his head and replaced his guilt with a genuine smile.

"I wasn't feeling well, but I'm okay now," Sora looked at everyone. Axel chased Roxas with five sparklers in each hand while Namine giggled at a joke Riku told her. Sora tried not to laugh at their antics and looked back at Kairi. "I'll tell you about it later. For now, let's just have fun with everyone."

"Right!" she responded enthusiastically before she stood up. She motioned with a hand at Sora towards everyone. "Let's join everyone, shall we?" She then gave the hand out towards Sora. He looked at it for a moment before laughing.

"Yeah." And he took her hand to haul himself up.

~.~.~

"It's time to hit the beach! Hell yeah!" Riku shouted as he exited out of his guest room and went outside the hallway. He blinked when he realized no one was out yet.

"You're being too loud in someone else's house," Sora scolded as wore a jacket over his half-naked body. He made sure to zip it up. "Quiet down." With a hand, he felt his achy back and sighed.

Since there were only two guests rooms, the four boys had to split it. Roxas stayed with Axel while Sora was with Riku. One thing he learned was that Riku's future girlfriend will have a tough time sleeping with him later. The whole night, Sora kept waking up because Riku just kept kicking him for more space. As a result, he just slept on the floor—it was more peaceful that way. However, his back was killing him.

"Someone's excited," Roxas sounded as he stepped out of his room with Axel.

"Because he just wants to get laid already."

"Axel, shut up," Riku hissed. He felt the muscles at his arms and nodded enthusiastically to himself. "Yup, these guns are still intact. Good, good."

"Oh gosh, Riku's admiring himself again," came Kairi's voice as she exited out her room with Namine. Clad in a jacket and some shorts, the girls also seemed beach-ready. "Someone stop this narcissist."

"It's too late," Sora joked as Riku gave a kiss to his own arms. "He's too far gone."

"C'mon, c'mon, I'm dying to go to the beach. Destiny Island beaches I heard are the best," Riku urged as he ushered everyone out of the hallway. "No time to waste!"

"Alright, alright, sheesh," Kairi said as she felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her shorts. As everyone filed out of the hallway and towards the front door, Kairi stopped in her tracks, eyes reading the lines of texts that she just received. "Wait, wait, wait." Everyone stopped their movements at Kairi's command. Eyes glued on her phone for a moment, she sheepishly looked up to address everyone. Sora raised an eyebrow—that look didn't spell good news.

"What's wrong, Kairi?" Riku asked.

"Before we go, there's someone—"

 _Ding dong!_

"Oh gosh."

"I'll get it!" Tifa sounded from the kitchen, and her footsteps were heard clambering towards the door. A quick silence passed through everyone for an instant as Tifa checked the peephole to see who it was. "Hm, why is Roxas outside all of a sudden?"

"Wait, I'm right here…" Roxas said next to everyone. "Wait a minute…"

As the door opened, Kairi swore her parents were going to faint.

"Wow, heyo!" a very familiar voice resonated within the house. Cloud's only expression were the widening of his eyes while Tifa rubbed her own eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. The gang had their mouths wide open as they stared at the blonde who smiled innocently at them. In his hand was the familiar Ultima Keyblade.

"A-are you that Keyblader I see on TV?" Tifa stuttered. Ventus gave a quick wave to everyone by the hallway before he turned his attention towards Tifa and smiled brightly.

"You know me too! Yes, I probably am! Ventus Airius, nice to meet you." Tifa dumbly held out her hand for Ventus to shake enthusiastically. Kairi really didn't understand how her parents could recognize Ventus, but not Roxas. They were literally twins.

"Ventus, what—how are you—why are you here?" Roxas stuttered, not believing the sight in front of him. The last time they even saw each other was before the Keyblade War even started. Sora himself was not spared by the shock as his mouth moved dumbly to address the person who saved his everything.

Ventus simply swung around the Ultima Keyblade for everyone to see.

"Is it okay for me to come in, Mrs. Lockhart?"

"Yes, of course!" Tifa made room for Ventus to step in, which he did. He stopped swinging the Keyblade around just in case it slipped out of his hand and destroyed something. Giving a small bow of his head towards Cloud to acknowledge his presence, he grinned at everyone.

"Long time no see guys. Well, it hasn't really been a long time, but for dramatic effect, humor me here. Aw c'mon guys, don't look at me as if you guys are going to cry! Happy times here, happy times!" He then turned towards Kairi. "Sorry for barging in all of a sudden. Roxie here told me you guys were going to be at Destiny Islands, so Vanitas gave me your address so that I could return this baby to Sora. Don't lash on Vanny, though. I forced it out of him. Oh, seems like you guys were about to go to the beach. Don't worry, this won't take long at all!"

Walking over to Sora, he gestured for Sora to hold out his hands. Sora obediently followed his command without a second thought. When the Ultima Keyblade was back into his hands, he felt its familiar heavy weight. "It'll be sad to part with this beauty, but it has to be returned at some point!"

Before anyone could even say anything, Tifa interrupted with a hand on her forehead once more. She was definitely not letting all of this sink in quite easily.

"Wait, wait, wait, please explain to me why Ventus Airius is in my home right now and why Sora and Roxas looks so darn familiar!"

Kairi really couldn't believe how her parents had yet to recognize Sora and Roxas. Did they even watch TV?

"Mom, do you really not know who they are?" Namine asked, seriously concerned now. She looked at her dad but was surprised to see him just reading his newspaper again. That indicated that he had already figured out. It was only her mom that still hadn't figured it out yet.

"Oh, so they are somebodies," she concluded. "I'm not going crazy."

Sora and Roxas awkwardly stood next to each other as everyone looked at them. Everyone expected them to introduce themselves formally, but when the both of them kept quiet, Kairi just couldn't take it anymore.

"Mom, this is Roxas Hikari, and—"

"Hi, my dad's the CEO of Keywielders," Roxas cut in, feeling so lame that Kairi had to do it for him. He gave her a side glare, which she returned back. "People don't usually recognize me because I'm not really out in the public a lot, but when they do, it's because of my dad." At least half of it was true—ever since the Keyblade Wars, more people have taken notice of him.

"Wimp," she mouthed.

"Stop it," he mouthed back.

"And uh, I'm his cousin," Sora repeated again, feeling that that was enough for an introduction. Cousins were significant too, right?

"Seriously?" Kairi mouthed to him this time. Sora glared right back at her. Kairi mentally sighed.

"Mom, this is Sora Hikari, and—"

"I'm her boyfriend."

"What the _fuck_?" Kairi couldn't help but curse out loud. She clamped her hand over her mouth.

 _Pfff!_

Riku jumped away from Cloud, who spat all of his water out.

Kairi stared at Sora.

He simply gave her a sweet smile back.

Namine gave him a thumbs up.

Ventus let out an "ooo" in surprise while everyone else just looked at Sora as if he just grew five heads all at once.

"No, really!" Tifa exclaimed, a hand on her cheek as she looked Sora up and down exactly like how she did it with Riku and smiled excitedly. "Passable, passable!"

"Mom!" Kairi whined, feeling heat rising up to her ears. "Sora, what the heck!"

"They gotta know some at point," Sora shrugged, completely composed as he felt the Ultima Keyblade in his hands. He didn't want her mom to think Riku was her boyfriend any longer. He could feel Namine's approving look on him as he tried not to laugh.

That was a lot easier than he thought.

"Sorry, I'm kind of shy about introducing myself in this sort of fashion," Sora admitted as he stretched a hand out towards Tifa. "I'm Sora, the kind-of-creator of the Keyblade."

Cloud had to swoop in from his chair and rescue his wife from another fainting spell as she absorbed everything that was just thrown at her.

~ _Five Minutes Later~_

"I'm so sorry about the shock, Ms. Lockhart. I thought you knew already!" Ventus exclaimed as he looked worriedly at Tifa. Tifa shook her head and weakly smiled.

"It's fine, it's fine. Go on, kids, continue your business—it sounds important," she urged. "I'll just get juice or something. Sit at the table! Don't worry, Cloud won't bite."

However, everyone just opted to stand—Cloud looked scarier than usual. Probably because one of his daughter's boyfriend was standing right in front of him. Kairi could tell that this wasn't the last time she'll hear from them about Sora.

"Anyway, yeah," Ventus pointed to the Ultima Keyblade, "It's been nice having it, but it's time to return it."

Sora gave the Ultima Keyblade, one of his best works yet, another look before he shook his head and handed it back to Ventus. Ventus dumbly took it back into his hands. Sora only gave a closed-mouth smile.

"It's yours. Keep it."

"What? Sora…" Ventus looked surprised for once. "Why?"

"It's the least I can do," Sora admitted. He felt so indebted to Ventus; this was one of the only ways he could show his gratitude. "Without you, I don't think I would've reclaimed the name of the Keyblade. You sacrificed a lot for us—just keep it. It's a form of my thanks."

"It's not mine to give, but I think you should have it too, Ventus," Roxas joined in, urging his twin to just accept it. "I really don't have anything to give you as a thank you yet, so if you accept this, it'll temporarily relieve my sense of debt."

"Guys, it was actually nothing," Ventus laughed as he shook his head. "It should be the other way around—what I did was to show my gratitude to you and your father, Sora, and you too, Roxas."

"Just have it, Ventus, seriously. I feel like this Keyblade is just as special to you as it is to me. Always look back at it to remember what you did for us," Sora insisted, and he made sure Ventus kept it in his hand by putting his own hand on top of it. "Really."

"Aw, guys, you're going to make me cry." Everyone thought Ventus was just kidding, but when he had to quickly wipe his eyes with his arm, they knew that wasn't it. He lightly threw the Keyblade up in the air and grabbed it by the handle, testing its weight once more before he beamed at his younger colleagues. "Thanks, Sora." Unexpectedly, he went over to both Roxas and Sora to give them both a hug, in which it was hesitantly returned. "Thanks, Roxas. I'll be watching over you guys, okay? Finish college and let me see what you guys do in the future."

"Yeah, of course."

Ventus, like he promised, didn't stay for long. Not wanting to intrude any longer, he bid the gang and the parents good bye before he went on his way. However, before he left, he put in some word for Sora.

"Hey, don't worry, your daughter is in good hands," he cheerfully said, earning a violent coughing fit from Kairi. "Sora's the man."

"Ventus, just go now," Sora demanded as he embarrassingly pushed the Keyblader out through the front door. "Out, out."

"See you guys later! Good luck!"

And Ventus's surprise yet delightful visit ended just that quick.

Once he left, the gang quickly excused themselves as well to go to the beach. Kairi didn't want to stay longer underneath her parents' scrutinizing gaze. Sora didn't look too bothered as he tried not to laugh at Kairi's reactions; what did she expect when she planned to bring him over here in the first place?

 _What a silly girl._

Expectedly, there were many people at the beach doing various activities. From playing beach volleyball to tanning, the large amount of people made the atmosphere a whole lot more fun-feeling. Riku was the first one to strip and take off his jacket, ready to just dive in and attract the ladies. Sora covered Kairi's eyes childishly, earning a laugh from her.

"I won't look, you idiot."

"I don't know, man, Riku has a rock-hard six-pack. I don't trust your eyes to not wander." Kairi slapped his hand away from her eyes and smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Riku's not my type."

"Nobody should be your type except me."

"Guys, quit flirting and let's go!" Axel interrupted the two as he swung an arm around both their shoulders. "It's time to have a well-deserved vacation!"

When the two girls finally unzipped their jackets, the four boys tried not to stare like idiots. Roxas focused his attention on a very good-looking palm tree while Sora just frowned at Kairi. _Too revealing._

"What are we waiting for! Let's go!" Namine giggled as she took off her sandals and sunk her feet into the warm sand. Kairi followed her, embracing the beach she missed so much.

"Time to get it _on_." Axel ripped open his jacket and ran straight into the water, not caring how he was splashing a nearby couple real hard. Riku joined in, but instead of running, he simply walked slowly, allowing the ladies to check him out. Sora tried not to hide his face in embarrassment for his two friends.

"Twilight Town doesn't have beaches, so this is a new experience," Roxas said next to him as he felt the warm sand with his foot. "Not sure what to do though."

"How about trying to talk to Namine?" Sora chuckled as he stepped into the sand a couple of feet and sat down. Roxas joined him.

"W-what?"

"She doesn't bite—well, she kinda does if you tick her off—but you should go talk to her."

"W-why should I do that?" Roxas spluttered. His cousin was so lame, Sora thought. Namine could easily turn him into the most unintelligent, bumbling fool on earth if she wanted him to. "She—I—oh, I don't—Sora!"

Scratch that—she already did.

"I think everyone here knows you have a thing for her except the person herself. If you don't act soon, she might be taken away you know. You've been doing nothing ever since this school year started. You want her to be taken away, don't you?"

"No! I… don't."

"Then go!"

"But Sora—"

"Go!" When Sora slapped Roxas's bare back with his hand, that got Roxas to move confusingly towards the direction of Namine. Sora wasn't going to admit it, but he just wanted Roxas to take Namine away so that he could spend time with his own girl.

 _Sorry, dude._

No, but if anything, he wished his cousin good luck.

Sora tried not to laugh like a wheezing old man when Roxas got swept by a wave and fell right on his butt the moment he reached Namine in the water.

"Roxas, are you okay?" Namine said worriedly. She held out a hand to help him up, which he took, but he only fell back down again when his eyes landed on her petite body.

"Too much… too much," he could be heard muttering as he opted to helping himself up. Roxas could see Kairi trying not to laugh her brains out behind her sister.

"Smooth," she mouthed at him, and the only thing he could do was glare at her.

"You're not used to the beach, are you?" Namine giggled as she wiped sand away from his shoulders. Roxas became a tomato in less than a second at the direct contact of skin. Kairi slowly snuck out to leave the two blondes alone.

Seeing Riku by the side, she was about to go up and talk to him, but she was unwelcomed as Riku gave her a deranged look and shooed her away with his hands.

"Dude, what's up with you?" Kairi laughed as she backed away from the frantic Riku.

"Kairi, I cannot be seen with you," he hissed as the waves washed by his feet. "Shoo, shoo!"

"Wait, why not?"

"You're going to drive away the girls from me!" Kairi tried not to roll her eyes at the ridiculous dude. "If girls see me with you, they'll think you're my girlfriend, and they won't come to me! You're too hot, dude, they'll be intimidated."

"Wow, that sounds like a compliment, but at the same time, it sounds like an insult," Kairi mocked hurt as she complied to his demands. At this point in time, Riku calling her pretty was nothing but an every-day statement now.

"Listen to the man's commands," Sora's voice sounded behind her. She squealed when a strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist. "It's his time to shine."

"Stop showing off and go," Riku joked as he shooed them away once more. He didn't have to say it twice as Sora carried a squealing Kairi away towards an area with less people.

Over at Roxas's side, he tried not to stutter anymore than he did as he sat with Namine in the sand. Her hair was slightly wavy from being wet, but it was quickly drying underneath the sun. He tried not to fiddle with his hands—the least he could do was look normal and calm.

"Do you like the beach?" Namine asked as she played with the sand. She let it run through her fingers. "Although, I don't think the beach likes you," she lightly teased, referring to how he dramatically fell flat on his bottom. Roxas laughed awkwardly.

"I think so too. But no, it's great. It's so sunny here compared to Twilight Town." Roxas reveled in the ocean breeze that ran through his hair and let out a content sigh. "I'll make a note to come here often."

"With who? It's not fun to come here alone."

"I'll probably drag Axel along. Maybe Sora if we become closer in the future."

"Closer to Sora? Aren't you guys okay now?" Namine asked, eyebrows furrowed. All of the giddiness inside Roxas slowly faded away to be replaced with a sad smile.

"I guess, but I don't think I can easily forget what I did to him just like that." Roxas looked out at the ocean horizon and wondered how far it actually stretched. "I feel like I just need to do more repenting."

"Roxas…"

"I actually don't know what to do now, to be honest. My dad has accepted his defeat; Sora will probably take over _something_ —whether it be Keywielders or something else—later in the future. He has already got what he wanted—recognition—so I don't know what else I'm supposed to do. I'm not even sure what my place is anymore," Roxas sighed as he realized how he was suddenly pouring all his dark thoughts out to Namine on a happy day. He quickly returned to his nervous self as he looked at Namine. "But it's okay, it'll sort itself out. If anything, I'll just find something else to do and find my own way, you know?"

"Roxas, you seriously can't mean 'find something else to do', do you?" Namine asked, scaring Roxas a bit. He simply shrugged, not sure why she was suddenly getting infuriated.

"Being involved with the Keyblade never was meant to be for me anyway, so—"

"Don't you think you're beating yourself down a little bit too harshly?" His mouth instantly snapped closed when Namine suddenly spoke in a loud manner. She sighed and crushed the sand in her hands. "I understand that what you did isn't something to be proud of, and if you never did it, then Sora wouldn't have gone through all of that anguish, but!" Roxas simply watched as Namine reached out to him and held one of his hands between her own as she urged him to look into her blue eyes. "You've worked just as hard. You've done all you could to make it up to Sora, and Sora even forgave you! He wouldn't even talk to you if he was still angry at you. And by the look in your eyes, doing what you did wasn't simply for your dad. Along the way, you found something you loved doing, right?"

Roxas swallowed the hard lump in his throat as he looked at Namine's hands wrapped around his before looking back up.

"Yeah," he simply croaked, and Namine gave him a bright smile.

"Then it's okay. Everything's okay. Don't stop what you love doing. In my eyes, you're doing a great job at it too, so don't give up on it, okay?"

"Is it okay, though?"

"Look at everyone," Namine let go of Roxas's hand, pointed to Riku and Axel who were splashing around foolishly in the water and then pointed more to the left where Kairi and Sora were walking by the shore, side-by-side. "If it wasn't okay, would we all be here today together having fun?" Roxas thought about it for a moment before he shook his head, and a real smile graced his features.

"I guess we wouldn't."

The two fell into a peaceful silence as the sound of chatter between people and the waves crashing upon the rocks were heard. It was Roxas who broke the silence with a bold question he never thought he would ask.

"Namine."

"Hm?"

"Are you by chance interested in anyone?" Sora's words echoed within his head—he didn't want to be too late. Namine eyed him curiously before she laughed lightly.

"Why are you asking?"

"S-sora and Kairi suddenly got together, so I—I was just wondering what—yeah." Roxas became a stuttering fool again. Her eyes twinkled before she stood up.

"I don't know. I don't really like anyone right now but there _is_ a guy I'm interested in. He's really nice and kind."

Roxas sighed a disappointed sigh—he knew it. Of course, his beautiful crush would have her eyes on someone else already. Seeing his obviously disappointed figure, Namine tried not to laugh before she gave her hand out to him once more.

"C'mon, the day is wasting, let's enjoy the water!"

Roxas glumly took her hand to hoist himself up.

"Sure."

Over at Kairi and Sora, they found a spot by the rocks away from people and decided to sit in the sand to watch the gentle waves.

"Are you not a swimmer?" Kairi asked as she settled her sandals next to her. "You're not really getting into the water." She wondered why Sora suddenly gave her a strange look, but forgetting how he was on the swim team, she let out an "oops."

"Wow, I can't believe you just asked me that question," Sora chuckled. "And I thought you knew me better."

"Sometimes I forget a few details, okay?" Kairi said defensively but broke out into a laugh at the end. "Are you not a fan of the beach though?"

"I am, but today, I don't feel like getting sand grains all over my hair," Sora admitted. He felt a few of his spikes. "They just get trapped like no tomorrow."

"Does your hair ever go down, even in the water?"

"Nope?"

"What the hell? Does your hair defy physics or something?"

"I ask the same question to myself every single day after a shower." Kairi shivered unintentionally when she felt Sora slip a hand around her waist to pull her closer to his side. Feeling his hand on her bare skin did wonders to her. "I like this though. It's calming."

"Yup."

With her head resting on his shoulder, Kairi gazed out into the sea. She could spot Axel's red hair and Riku's unique silver hair from a mile away.

"Want to tell me what was with you when we landed?" Kairi finally asked to break the silence. She never found the right time to inquire about it, but she decided that now was the time.

"Hm?" Sora hummed in response. Realizing what she was talking about, he let out an "oh" and sighed.

"I was just nervous."

"So Riku was right?"

"Sure, whatever he said," Sora let her go and created some space in between them so that he could face her while talking. "One factor was meeting your parents. I felt weird the moment I saw them, so sorry about that."

"You sure confidently told them the truth, didn't you?" Kairi muttered as she burned red in embarrassment when she remembered how he boldly just announced their relationship. Sora smirked at her.

"What were you expecting? I thought it wouldn't bother you, since you decided to take your boyfriend home all of a sudden. I liked your guts, but it seems like, in the end, you don't have any."

"That's because I was planning to tell them in a calmer manner!" Kairi crossed her arms with a "hmph." "Not when my mom's head is spinning in circles. Slow and steady wins the race, Sora."

"Not when your mom thinks someone else is your boyfriend," Sora muttered darkly. "Slow and steady doesn't always win the race depending on the conditions."

"Boyfriend? Who in the world?"

"Riku, you smarty."

" _Pfft_ , what the heck? You have quite the imagination, don't you?" This earned her a tight headlock and a violent ruffle to her hair.

"Say it again, Kairi, say it's all in my head again. I dare you, you unaware redhead," he commanded as Kairi let out a strangled cry. She wiggled out of his grip and groaned when she felt her hair all messed up.

"Watch the hair, dude, watch the darn hair!"

Sora kissed her to shut her up. It went away too fast before Kairi could even kiss him back.

"We're at the beach, and you want to keep your hair neat? You're a special one, do you know that?" Sora teased as he pulled back away from her. He chuckled at the frown etched between her eyes. She no longer seemed flustered whenever he kissed her. He made a note to change that later when they had more private time. "But back to your question—it wasn't just the whole meeting-the-parents ordeal."

"Hm? It isn't? There's something else?"

"Yeah. It isn't that big of a deal. It just made me feel… strange. So sorry about that too."

"I'm not following."

"It's just that," Sora sighed, "I think Destiny Islands was the last place where I really felt happy?" Sora never told this to anyone, so as he did, he awkwardly drew random shapes in the sand with his finger. "I really liked it here. It was a time where both my parents were still alive. I remember playing at the beach when I was young, swimming all day long, building a boat with my dad—it really was a happy time for me. Then we had to move to Traverse Town for my dad's work, which wasn't an easy change. It was a lot darker there. The beach that I liked wasn't there anymore, and I couldn't feel the ocean breeze anymore. It was a total let-down.

"But it was okay—it was a gradual change. Both my parents were still by my side, so I thought it would all be alright. And then fast forward in time, and you already know the rest. Had to move to Twilight Town and start another new life there. I never had the chance to revisit Destiny Islands, so coming back here all of a sudden made me feel out of it. Going through weird feelings, the works." Sora blinked when Kairi suddenly gave him teary eyes. That wasn't what he wanted. "No, but seriously, I'm okay now, so—"

"You should've told me," she sniffed. "And I would've been more considerate, you know?"

"It's fine, idiot." Sora pulled her back to his side by swinging an arm around her shoulders. Kairi rubbed her nose with a finger and sniffed again. "It really is. It was just an initial feeling. Now I'm feeling okay."

"If you say so. How do you feel being back on a Destiny Island beach?"

"It feels great," Sora confessed. "Especially since I'm with people who are important to me. I wouldn't want to have it any other way."

"How sweet, Sora," Kairi snickered in response as she poked him in the cheek. She let out a small hum. "It feels weird though, doesn't it?"

"What does?"

"Just last month, you were battling it out with your uncle. Now… we're just chilling. It's like a bittersweet memory except it wasn't sweet at all." Kairi became bold and straddled Sora, making his breath hitch suddenly. She started to play with his hair, and he closed his eyes once more as he listened to her smooth voice. "To think that I started college, like what, eight months ago? I think I would be extremely lying if I said I had a normal freshman year."

"Credits to me for making your life spicier," he jokingly bragged as he started to play with her hair as well. "One and only Sora Hikari, the man who brought the sparkles in your world."

"As if, you egoist."

"Keep being in denial," Sora said as he stuck out his tongue. She flicked his forehead in response lightly and sighed. It was definitely going to be weird for her to go back to a normal college life, not that it was too crazy to begin with. To not have things other than school to worry her would be great.

Although, having Sora as a boyfriend was anything but normal.

"What do you plan to do though?"

"Roxas asked me the same question. I just said 'I don't know.' Finishing college is my top priority right now. I'll just worry about the Keywielders thing later—it's not like it's gonna grow legs and run somewhere. I have all the time in the world. Do you know what else I have to do though?"

"What?"

"Be with you," Sora smiled. He took both of his hands and stretched Kairi's cheeks, earning a groan of agitation from her. "My cute little angel, you."

"Is that supposed to sound endearing? Because it doesn't."

"Get used to it."

Kairi screamed once more when Sora suddenly lifted her up and went towards the water. She thought he would gently let her down, but she was so wrong. He merely just dropped her straight into the water with no precautions whatsoever, causing her to swallow a good chunk of salt water. Spitting it out violently, she flipped her hair back to shoot a death glare at Sora, who just smirked at her.

"You kinda look hot when you're wet and angry in the water," Sora said as he checked her out. He even gave a nod of approval to humor himself. "My type of thing." He quickly backed away when Kairi attempted to splash a wave of water at him, only to miss.

"Come here, you asshole," Kairi growled, "And let me drown you." Pulling Sora's arm, she successfully got him fully in the water and dunked his head underneath it, earning a flailing of arms from him as he resurfaced. Just like he said, his spiky hair poofed back up as if it never got wet in the first place as he shook the water out of his hair.

Kairi never realized how handsome Sora looked when his body was in the water. With droplets glistening on his tanned skin, it really outlined the faint lines of muscles that he had. She found him a lot sexier too with the whole silver crown necklace he wore.

Yeah, things were definitely not going to return back to normal with Sora as a boyfriend.

"The water's a lot colder than I remembered it to be," Sora noted as he waddled through the water to wrap his arms around Kairi again. She settled her hands on his shoulders as she looked into his deep oceanic eyes. "Wonder why."

"Maybe it's because it's spring, Einstein," Kairi pointed out. "Spring doesn't equal summer."

"Yeah, it takes a no-brainer to figure out spring doesn't equal summer," he bit back as he leaned his forehead against hers. The waves swam past them gently as they stood waist deep in the water. Kairi giggled when Sora lifted her up. Legs wrapped around his waist, she tried not to tip them both over into the water.

"For a guy who barely did anything with his ex-girlfriend, you sure know how to be romantic, don't you?"

"I learn from the best, don't I?" Sora joked, referring to Riku. "Taught me all I need to know."

And Sora leaned up to capture her lips with his. Arms wrapped around his neck, Kairi delightfully returned his wet kiss with as much enthusiasm. Since there weren't really a lot of people around, she wasn't afraid to deepen the kiss a little. Just when she thought they were going to go a little bit overboard with the way Sora's fingers dangerously traced the outlines of her bikini top…

 _Splash!_

"Holy fuck!"

Kairi's surprised scream got muffled by the water once more as Sora completely let her go and dropped her back into the water. Next to them were Axel and Riku, who had mischievously poured water over their heads with buckets they mysteriously got somewhere. Roxas and Namine also joined in on the surprise brigade as they used their hands to splash water at the couple. Sora had no choice but to retaliate back.

"Where the hell did you guys even come from?" Sora yelled amidst the flying waters. Kairi found her footing once more as she shook her wet hair out of her face. "Do you know what privacy means?"

"Thanks for dropping me for the nth time!" Kairi yelled as she joined everyone in their attack against Sora.

"This is the beach, foo, privacy doesn't exist here!" Riku half-screamed, half-laughed as he continued to use the bucket to throw water at Sora.

"That's right!" Axel joined in.

"Five against one, five against one! Unfair play here!"

All six of their laughter resonated with the sound of the ocean breeze and the gentle wafting of the waters as they continued to attack each other with splashes. Other people on the beach probably thought they were too crazy and immature for a bunch of twenty-year-olds, but to them, it was finally a moment for them to be normal college kids again.

 _The way it's supposed to be._

~.~.~

Kairi taped the picture into her notebook and patted it to make sure it didn't fall off. She smiled as she read everything she had written.

Kairi reminded herself to write more things down if she remembered them.

Underneath her list was the newly-added photo she taped in. The photo consisted of the six of them with their sparklers as they tried to form the word "friends", but they failed utterly when Axel couldn't spell the letter "F" correctly (no one could blame him—it _was_ the hardest letter to form with a single sparkler).

"Kairi, it's time to go! We're going to miss our ship at this rate!"

"Coming!" Kairi quickly shut her notebook and stuffed it in her suitcase. She quickly exited her room and out the front door, where everybody was waiting for her.

"Good bye, Destiny Islands. Until we meet again," Roxas said in a bittersweet tone as his eyes grazed past the palm trees and the sea once more.

"Thanks for having us," Axel thanked Tifa and Cloud. The adults simply smiled.

"It was great to have the house so lively again. Feel free to come again!" Tifa said. She then patted her husband on the back. "Go, go, drive them to the port before it's too late!" Kairi and Namine both gave their mom one last hug before they put everything in the car.

"Thank you for the homemade food," Sora said to Tifa as everyone took turns putting their things into the back of the car. "It was great." Tifa smiled and shook her head.

"Thank you for taking care of Kairi. I know she gets a little bit out of hand sometimes, but she's a good girl."

"Yeah, I know." Tifa couldn't help but squeal and patted Sora on the shoulder.

"Okay, go on! We wouldn't want any of you to miss your ship back home! I hope I see you all again soon!"

And as the house shrunk the more the car drove on, Kairi couldn't wait to return back to her life as a college student with her newfound friends by her side. She could just imagine it—Namine with her nerdy outbreaks, Roxas with his nervous stutters, Axel with his inappropriate yet funny jokes, Riku with the girls, and Sora with his cocky yet caring personality. When she took turns to look at everyone in the car, it was then that she realized something.

With all the odds in the world, they all managed to beat them and be here together. Kairi would've never imagined seeing herself here with these people. From the crazy adventures to the unexpected friendships, Kairi wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Summary of my wonderful first year of college (in no particular order):

-Broke a certain someone's wrist and became his obedient slave

-Somehow passed all my math classes with the help of the o'mighty genius Roxas

-Survived Sephiroth's class

-Went to my first college party (a very bad yet memorable experience)

-Went to my first ever dog café (the dogs were so cute!)

-Attacked my roommate (I'm not afraid to attack her again)

-Made up with my ex

-Fell in love with the creator of the Keyblade (crazy right?)

-Got together with the creator of the Keyblade (double crazy)

-Became a somewhat-secret agent for a day

-Met the most famous Keyblader in the whole entire world (got his autograph too!)

-Discovered the amazing Aerith's Burgers

-Learned how to skip class efficiently and effectively from the one-and-only Riku Solari

-hooked up my sister with Roxas (still-in-process)

-went to the beach with all my friends

-Supported boyfriend to win the name of the Keyblade back

-Watched the keyblade wars with all of my friends

-Learned that college isn't all that fun when you have horrible professors

-Learned that the most unexpected things can happen when you're least prepared for it (but it's okay because everything will work out in the end)

 _-Life is all about mending things together, one strand at a time._

 **THE END**

* * *

Here it is guys: the end of this story. I really don't know what is up with my writing (maybe because of the stress of summer session omg) but I couldn't help but write this as a rushed ending. I don't know, everything felt rushed to me, but I really did try my best to flesh out this last chapter! I was planning on writing another chapter after this one, but then realized I probably didn't have enough brain power for another chapter, so I wrapped it up in one.

On a brighter note-this is the end. Wow. I remember I wrote this story in 2016 on Christmas Night on a whim. I didn't expect myself to write something this long. I'll definitely look back at this story as a good experience, and I hope you, my readers, really enjoyed reading this story as I enjoyed writing it (even if I did have my own slip ups because of writer's block and night-time writing.

One thing I want to say: I do have an epilogue planned (I GUESS I DO HAVE ENOUGH BRAIN POWER FOR ANOTHER CHAPTER) but I'm not sure if any of you guys want it. Do let me know if you guys want an epilogue (like a 10 years later thing) or if this ending is good enough for you guys!

ONE FINAL THING: Thank you so much for my silent readers, active reviewers, and just everyone! I wouldn't be able to continue writing this story without motivation stemming from you guys. I wouldn't write a story knowing people didn't like it-thank you so much for showing your appreciation for this story. Do leave one final thought as a review because I do want to improve as a writer! I won't stop writing (I've already started on my second fanfic) so be on the look out for my next few activities.

And this concludes **Mending Strands**. I hope you guys have enjoyed this story to the fullest :)


End file.
